Chapter One

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The quiet sound of humming filled the library as Twilight was busy conducting her weekly routine of dusting the bookshelves. Even though it really wasn't needed, the young purple alicorn wanted to keep herself busy. Who would blame her? The map hasn't summoned any of her friends in quite a while, no threat of attack or any sign of trouble could be seen, and Starlight had already been given her task in her friendship studies. She had been sent to Sweet Apple Acres to learn just how valuable having somepony to help out can be by helping Applejack with applebucking, especially since Big Mac was out of town on a delivery.

"It sure has been calm around here." Twilight thought as she continued dusting. "No villains, no monsters, nothing that required all of us to save Equestria." As soon as she said that in her head, her feather duster brushed across a book that Twilight knew very well. Seeing this, the young alicorn decided to take a small break and placed the duster aside so she could take a look at the book. "Not even a problem from my friends at Canterlot High." She thought as she looked at the journal that she and her friend, Sunset Shimmer, use to communicate between the different worlds. As she decided to sit down in a chair, the sound of a door opening caught her attention.

"Hey Twilight." Spike said as he poked his head into the room. "All done with dusting already?"

"Nah." Twilight replied. "I just decided to take a small break."

"That's rare." The little dragon said as he walked into the room while carrying two mugs of apple cider. "Usually you don't stop until you're all done." However, he soon found why she did so. "Been a while since I last saw that book." He said before allowing Twilight to take one of the mugs with her magic.

"Huh. You're right, Spike." She replied. "It has been a while since I last talked to Sunset." She then looked at the book before using her magic to open it to where they last spoke. But upon seeing the date that the conversation took place on, her pupils shrank. "Almost six months!" She exclaimed before showing Spike.

"Woah." He said in surprise. "Has it really been that long?"

"Yes!" She replied. "Ohhh. What kind of friend am I? I've let six months go by without even thinking about her!" Spike looked on as his friend began to freak out. "What if she thinks I'm ignoring her? What if she thinks she did something wrong and I won't speak to her?"

"Twilight. Calm down." The little dragon said before walking over and gently placing a claw on her back. "Just take a minute or so and write to her. I'm sure she'd like to hear from you."

Twilight sighed a bit before looking down at the reassuring eyes of her friend. "You're right, Spike. I should write to her." She then let the book lay open on the table before making a quill and some ink appear beside it.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I'm so sorry for the amount of time between the last time we spoke and now. I didn't realize that we haven't talked for a while until today. There's just been so many things that has happened since we last spoke. Shining Armor and Cadance had their baby. A natural born alicorn that they named Flurry Heart. I've also taken on a pupil. Her name is Starlight Glimmer. She's a unicorn with an insane amount of magical knowledge. Remember when I last came there and told you about being stuck in a time loop? Well..... she was the reason behind it.
But I've forgiven her for her past actions and she has taken to her friendship studies very well.
Anyways, how have you been? How are the rest of our friends doing? Are you guys still playing music together? How is my human counterpart getting along at CHS?
I have so many questions. But I'll stop myself before I overwhelm you with them. I'll be looking forward to talking to you again. Please respond as soon as you read this.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle

"And now I just have to wait until she replies." Twilight said before placing the quill down on the table. After saying that, Twilight just sat and looked at the book, occasionally breaking her glance to take a sip of her cider. Minutes passed by, but yet the book wasn't showing any signs of a response. "This isn't right." She said. "She usually replies right away."

"Maybe she's busy." Spike suggested. "Maybe she's practicing her guitar with the rest of her friends."

"I suppose so." Twilight replied. "Well, the message will be there when she opens her book." She sighed again before picking up her feather duster. "Guess I'll just go back to dusting until I either finish or she replies. Whichever comes first."

"Alright." The little one said as he started walking toward the door. "I'll just go ahead and go over to Rarity's for a bit. See you when I get back."

"Ok." She replied. "Tell Rarity I said hi!"

"Will do." Spike said before closing the door behind him, leaving Twilight alone to get back to her dusting.

-One hour later-

Twilight grew more anxious by the minute as she glanced between the shelf that she was dusting and the book on the table. If Sunset had replied, the book would've started glowing and vibrating. But each time she looked, it just sat there.

"Hey Twilight." Spike called out before entering the room. "I'm back."

"Hey Spike." She replied before setting down the duster again. "How was your visit with Rarity?"

"Amazing." He replied. "Rarity showed off a bunch of new designs that she wanted a second opinion on. And guess who she asked." Twilight simply chuckled before pointing her hoof at the little dragon. "Correct." He said before jumping onto a chair by the table as Twilight sat down where she was. "So....." He said before looking at the journal. "Did Sunset reply yet?"

"No." Twilight replied. "She hasn't. And now, this is starting to worry me."

"Why?"

"Because she's never taken this long to respond before." The alicorn said before burying her face into her hooves. "I've really messed up this time."

"No you didn't, Twilight." Spike replied. "You're a great friend."

"Then why hasn't she written back yet?"

"I don't know." The little dragon replied. "Maybe you should go and pay her a surprise visit. That'll give you and her some quality time to spend together."

This made Twilight look back up before gazing at him. "That's a great idea, Spike!" She said before getting off of her chair while grabbing the book with her magic. "Maybe I should pay her a visit. It would certainly surprise her."

"Yes it would." Spike replied before the two exited the library and started to make their way toward the room that housed the mirror portal. As she carried the book with her, Twilight couldn't help but think about all the things she and Sunset could do. "How long do you think you'll be there?"

"Well, maybe a few days or so." She replied. "I'm sure Sunset would be sad if I didn't spend a while with her after not even talking to her for so long."

"That's true."

"You wanna come along?"

"Nah." He replied. "I think I'd be better off staying here. Especially since you said that the other you has a dog that looks and talks exactly like me."

"Alright then." Twilight replied before the two entered the room. "Just be sure to tell Starlight and the others where I am if they ask."

"Will do." The little dragon replied as Twilight levitated the book up and placed it above the mirror where her machine would then siphon the magical energy needed to open the portal.

"I'll write to you when I'm ready to come back." She said before walking over and turning on the machine. Both of them then watched as it started absorbing the magic from the book before soon enough, the portal opened. Upon seeing this, Twilight smiled before she started to step closer to it. But as soon as she started walking, she stopped for a bit as she noticed the portal begin to ripple and glow. "What in Equestria?" She thought before the top half of an earth pony stallion emerged. Twilight gazed at him before his eyes focused on her. She then watched as he rolled over onto his hooves before getting up and coming completely through.

"Uhh..... hello." Twilight said. But the pony didn't respond. He just slowly looked around the room before turning his attention back to Twilight. Something didn't seem right about this pony to her. His eyes were bloodshot and his mane looked as though it had gotten into a fight with some hedge trimmers. "Are you alright?"

The pony just groaned in response before slowly making his way forward toward Twilight.

"Umm..... who are you?" She asked.

Again, the pony groaned as he continued stepping toward her, going a bit faster with each step. This was making Twilight very nervous as she started backing away from him.

"Don't be rude." Spike said. "She asked who you were. The least you could do is answer."

The pony just looked at Spike for a moment before returning his focus to the alicorn as he continued walking toward her.

"Please stop." She said. "You're starting to scare me."

But he didn't stop. He just kept coming forward. Soon, Twilight's effort to keep away from him was stopped as her flank bumped into the wall. Upon seeing this, the pony let out a shriek before racing toward her. "Stay away!" She cried out, but he didn't stop. Seeing no other alternative and to protect herself, Twilight fired a bolt of magic at the pony, striking him directly between the eyes before he fell to the floor.

"Twilight!" Spike said as he rushed over. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She said. "I'm fine." She then turned her attention to the pony who had just tried attacking her. Looking closely, she could see that he was still breathing. "Good." She said. "He's just sleeping now."

"What was all that about?" Spike asked as he looked at the pony.

"I have no idea." Twilight replied. "But this isn't right. I've never encountered somepony like this on the other side."

"Well to be honest." Spike said. "This pony was acting just like the zombies in my comic books. Groaning, slowly walking until they broke out in speed to catch their next meal."

"Spike!"

"Oh. Sorry." The little one said. "But the similarities are there, Twilight."

"So you think that this is a zombie?" She asked while pointing her hoof at the sleeping pony.

"Do you have any other explanation?"

Twilight rubbed her hoof against her muzzle as she thought about what reason was behind this pony's attempted attack. But the more she thought about it, the more likely her friend's explanation was right.

"What if there are more like what this pony is on the other side?" She asked. "Maybe this is why Sunset hasn't replied!"

"Good chance." Spike replied before Twilight grabbed the sleeping 'zombie' with her magic. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go over there and see if I can find Sunset and the others." She replied. "But I can't risk another one of these things entering the portal."

"So just like what we were originally going to do." Spike said. "I'll stay here and close the portal after you go through. That way, nothing will get through until you write back."

Twilight nodded her head before using her magic to send the unconscious pony through the portal. She then started to make her way toward it as well.

"Please be careful, Twilight." Spike said.

"I will." She replied. "If worse comes to worse and you don't hear back from me in say..... a week, open the portal and come find me. I'll try and stay around the portal if I can."

"Alright." Spike said before the alicorn breathed in and sighed heavily. Steeling her resolve and now determined to find her friends, Twilight slowly entered the portal.

After going through the bizarre space between the two worlds, Twilight found herself flung out of the portal before crashing to the concrete below. Luckily though, each time this has happened, she always found herself without any cuts or scrapes. "I'm back." She softly said to herself as she took her time to get used to her human body again. As she slowly got up though, her eyes grew wide at what was around.

The school was directly in front of her as it always was. But she saw that some of the windows were boarded up while others were shattered. The main doors were eerily open though. Slowly, she turned around and placed her hand against the side of the Wondercolt statue. It felt solid.

"Good." She thought. "Spike closed it." Twilight then remembered the reason why as she started to look for the pony that she had sent back here. Looking around, she soon found the now human like creature still asleep just a few yards away. But he was very much different from his pony form. Cuts, sores, and blisters covered his body along with torn clothing.

Being cautious, she decided to slowly and quietly walk away, keeping a wary eye on the creature in case he woke up. Once around the corner of the school, she breathed a soft sigh of relief before looking around again. Normally there would be people everywhere. But now, there were just these metal carriages that Sunset called cars in the streets with smashed windows.

"What in Equestria happened here?" Twilight asked herself as she continued to look around. "Where is everypony? Err... I mean everybody." Glancing from her right to her left, Twilight found one of the fire doors of Canterlot High open. "Maybe somebody is in here." She thought before slowly making her way over toward the metal door. With every step, Twilight could feel her heart beat a little faster as she grew more and more scared. But if she was going to find anyone who could help, she might as well start in the place that she knows best.

Soon, she stopped right outside the entrance. Peering inside, her nostrils were immediately assaulted by a vulgar scent that made her want to gag. She then tried using her hand to fan it away, but to no avail.

"Hello?" She called out into the dimly lit hallway. "Is anyone in here?" A few seconds of silence passed without a response. "Hello?" She called out again, this time a bit louder. This time, she heard the sound of a small glass item breaking before she heard some unfamiliar noises coming from within. Squinting her eyes to see as best as she could, Twilight saw a door immediately get kicked open before she saw something move from behind it. In the flickering lights of the hallway, she could just make out the silhouette of a woman.

"Hello?" Twilight said. But the response she got was an ear piercing shriek from her before she began charging at her. Twilight immediately started to panic before remembering the metal door. Without a moment to lose, she grabbed the door and slammed it shut before pressing herself against it. Shortly after, she felt a large thud as the woman most likely barreled straight into it. Breathing heavily, Twilight kept herself against the door until she heard the woman on the other side begin pounding on it.

"Oh no!" She thought as she started to back away from the door, making sure to get as much distance between herself and it as possible. It wasn't until she got to the sidewalk that the door opened again, revealing the woman for Twilight to see. She looked like the human version of Ms. Cheerilee, only with her clothes torn to where you could practically see her bra and panties.

Cheerilee's bloodshot eyes immediately caught sight of Twilight and she soon let out another shriek before beginning her sprint toward her. With no magic to defend her this time, Twilight immediately started running as fast as she could with Cheerilee not far behind.

"Help!" Twilight cried out as loud as she could. "Please! Somepony help me!" But there was no one around that she could see. Twilight turned her head to look back only to find Ms. Cheerilee slowly beginning to close the distance between herself and the humanized alicorn. Looking back in front, Twilight saw that she was coming up toward Sugarcube Corner. "Help!" She called out again as she kept sprinting down the sidewalk. "Is anypony out there?!"

She could hear Cheerilee breathing down her neck before she turned her head to look back just as her pursuer decided to leap at her. Seeing this, Twilight quickly dodged to the side, letting Cheerilee fly past her with only a few feet to spare. But this sudden change in direction put Twilight in a dead end alley between Sugarcube Corner and another building.

"No." She said softly before looking back to see Cheerilee now blocking the only exit. "No no no no no! Help! Somepony! Anypony!" She cried out, her eyes now filling with tears as Cheerilee began to walk down the alley, almost stalking her as Twilight backed away. "Please!" She begged. "Somepony save me!"

*BOOM*

The sudden sound from the alley's entrance made both of them stop before Cheerilee turned around to find a guy standing at the entrance holding some sort of object in his hands. Twilight looked on as he slowly aimed one end of the object at Cheerilee.

"Get behind something!" She heard him call out as Cheerilee started sprinting toward him. Twilight immediately heeded his warning and ducked behind a dumpster before she heard another sound similar to the first one. And then another before the area became silent. Shaking violently, Twilight slowly peeked around the corner of the dumpster to find Cheerilee laying face down with the guy standing next to her before he looked over at her.

Slowly, he put the object in his hands into some kind of sleeve on his back before making his way over to her before he stopped just a few feet away. Looking up, Twilight could see that he was wearing all black. Black pants, a black jacket, and a black hat that was similar in shape to Applejack's. His eyes were covered by a set of orange tinted mirrored glasses that she could only see herself in instead of his eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked before offering a hand out to her. "Did you get bit?"

"I-I-I'm fine." Twilight stammered before she reached out and took hold of his hand before he helped her up. "And n-no. I didn't get b-bit."

"That's good." He said. "Guess I got here just in time then. You're lucky I was checking the pawn shop over here for supplies. Otherwise...."

Hearing this, Twilight immediately grabbed onto him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." She said before sobbing into his jacket. "Thank you so much for saving me!"

"No problem." He replied before returning the hug by wrapping an arm around her body. "I'm just glad to see that you're alright."

"W-Who are you?" She asked while looking up at him.

"Name's Bullseye. But most people just call me Bull." He replied before taking off his glasses to show her his green colored eyes. "And you?"

"Twilight." She said. "Twilight Sparkle."

"Huh." He replied. "I know a girl that has that exact same name." He then paused and looked at her for a bit. "Come to think of it, you kinda look just like her."

"Well. I uh...." She said before hearing a shriek echo from across the city.

"Perhaps I should take you back to base." He said. "It's a lot safer there than it is here. Plus Phoenix is always happy to meet new people."

"Phoenix?"

"My group's leader." Bull replied before reaching into his pocket and pulling out some kind of box like object with a long rod sticking out of one of the sides.

"What is that?" Twilight asked, making Bull look at her with a confused look on his face.

"A walkie talkie." He replied before putting it close to his mouth. "Scavenger Two to Base. Come in, Base. Over."

"This is Base." A voice replied. "What do you need, Scavenger Two? Did you find the supplies we need? Over."

"Negative." Bull replied. "The Under the Sun Emporium looks like its been cleaned out of any valuable items. But I did manage to find something else. Something that Phoenix will need to see. Over."

"What did you find? Over."

Bull slowly turned his gaze toward Twilight before pressing the button on the side to speak.

"A survivor."

Chapter Two

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After listening to Bull and the person on the other end of his walkie talk, it was decided that he bring her back to this place he called 'Base' for her own safety. The humanized alicorn made sure to keep herself behind him in case another one of these 'zombies' decided to attack as the two began to walk toward the alley entrance. As they walked, Twilight couldn't help but feel uneasy when she walked by Cheerilee's motionless body before they got back out onto the sidewalk. She made sure to keep an eye on her in case she did start to get up.

"What happened here, Bull?" Twilight asked as the two walked out onto the street. "I don't remember this place being the way it is at all."

Bull sighed for a moment before looking over at her. "I take it you're not from around here. Are you." Twilight just shook her head in response.

"No." She said. "I'm actually from a different world."

"A different world?"

"Yes." She replied. "A land called Equestria." She then looked at him as he looked confused at what she said. "I know. It sounds a little strange. But what I'm saying is true."

"That name." He said. "I remember overhearing Phoenix say that name a couple of months ago. Now what you told me earlier is starting to make more sense."

"Who is Phoenix?"

"It's just a name we call her over the walkie." He replied. "Her real name is Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset!" Twilight exclaimed, only to have her mouth get covered by Bull's hand. He then looked around for a bit, making sure Twilight's unexpected outburst didn't attract any unwanted attention, before moving his hand away. "Sorry." She said. "I just haven't seen or spoken to her in a long time."

"I see." He said as he stopped beside a large truck that was on its side and sat down, making sure no one else was around. Twilight did the same and stayed quiet so she could listen to him. "Well to answer your question, it all started almost six months ago in the city of Fillydelphia." He began. "Some sort of new virus that got called the 'Green Flu' started spreading like wildfire. Anyone who caught it soon displayed an extreme amount of aggression, mutations in some cases, and each infected person lost a good portion of their brain cells and functionality."

Twilight just sat there and looked at him in shock as he continued his story.

"The only way one can get the Green Flu is if they get bitten by an infected person." He said. "That's why I asked you that question earlier."

"So these people aren't zombies?"

"Nope." Bull replied. "They ain't zombies. Just infected."

"Can they be cured?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure on that part." He said. "Then again, most of the country has been infected. So that doesn't leave many people who can find a cure if it even exists." He then looked over at Twilight who had a sad look on her face. "You're actually the first survivor I've run into in quite a while."

"I am?"

"Yeah." He replied. "Though I'm surprised you don't have anything to defend yourself." He then pulled out his object from the sleeve strapped to his back. "Something like this little beauty right here."

"What is that?" She asked while pointing at it.

"Never seen a shotgun before?"

"No."

"Never seen a shotgun." He repeated. "This place you're from. I'm not really sure if I'd like it there." He said before handing it over to her. Twilight was immediately surprised by how heavy it was. Then again, she had never even heard of this thing before. "I can't tell you how many times that this gun saved my ass." He said as Twilight looked closely at it. "Found her when a friend and I had to hide inside an abandoned gun shop from a horde of infected. I grabbed her and as much ammo as I could carry before we had to leave through the back door to escape."

"So this thing..... kills?"

"Well yes and no." He said before she gave it back to him. "By itself, it might as well be a overpriced paper weight. But put it in the hands of someone who knows how to use it and then it becomes something that kills. But in this world now, it's kill or be killed. Survival is the number one priority."

"There's no other way?"

"None that I'm aware of, I'm afraid." He said. This made Twilight look down at the asphalt. A mixture of feelings were racing through her head. She was thankful that Bull had saved her from Ms. Cheerilee. But at the same time, she was sad that the only way he could save her was by killing someone that she knew. "I've seen that look before." Bull said, making her look up at him. "You knew that infected person. Didn't you."

"Yeah." Twilight replied. "She was a teacher back at Canterlot High."

Bull sighed after hearing that. "Most of us had friends or loved ones who became infected, myself included."

"Did you have to....?"

"Not.... all of them." He replied. "But those I did, I regret not being there to stop them from becoming infected." After saying that, it was he who then started to look down at the asphalt. "But there was one incident in particular that I'll never forget."

"What happened?"

"It was supposed to be a simple supply run." He said. "My friend and I were told to go out and bring back some food from an abandoned supermarket. But we didn't account for being outnumbered and nearly surrounded by them." Twilight looked on as a tear began to form in his eye. "We fought as long as we could before we had to run. But in the heat of the fight, we got separated."

"What was your friend's name?"

"Steel Blade." He replied. "One of the best swordsmen I've ever seen. And my best friend." After hearing that, Twilight gasped. "When I realized he wasn't behind me, I tried to find him. But all I found was his sword laying in an aisle with a trail of blood leading away from it."

"Did he become infected?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Bull said. "It wasn't until I got back to the truck when I found him next to it. He was hunched over, eyes bloodshot, clothes torn, and had bite marks all over his body." Twilight looked on in silence as his hands started trembling. "I had his sword in my hand when he tried to attack me. He.... he left me with no choice." He then broke down after saying that.

"He.... had to kill his best friend.... to save his own life." Twilight thought as she watched Bull cry. Sensing the need to do something, she put her arm around him and pulled him close. "I'm so sorry." She said. "I can't imagine what it must've been like." After saying that, she just held him close for a few minutes before he pulled himself together.

"Thank you." He said before wiping a tear from his eye. He then slowly got to his feet before helping Twilight up. "We better get going." He said. "Phoenix will be expecting you back at the base and we really don't want to be out here when it gets dark."

"How far is this place from here?"

"Just across town." He replied as they started to walk again. "It's an old abandoned factory that we've renovated into a stronghold."

"And how did you get here?"

This made Bull chuckle before pointing a finger over toward a truck that looked different from the ones on the street. Twilight's eyes widened as she looked at it. Metal bars lined all of the windows and a large piece of metal was bolted to the front in some kind of plow shape.

"This old girl can clear a path through an entire horde of infected if she had to." Bull said before opening the passenger side door and reaching in to pull something out. Twilight looked on as Bull revealed it to be a sword inside a sheath.

"Is that your friend's sword?"

"Yeah." He replied. "I like to keep it with me when I go out on runs like this one. Gives me a sense that he's watching my back." He then stepped aside to let her get in before closing the door and walking around to the other side. Once he got in, he placed the key in the ignition and turned it. The noise that followed made Twilight cover her ears for a bit over how loud the engine was.

"Not really built for stealth." She said before he placed the truck in 'drive' and stepped down on the gas pedal, making the truck begin to move.

"Wasn't meant to be." He replied. "She may be loud, but I have yet to meet anything she couldn't push out of her way!" As the truck rolled on, Twilight looked at all of the buildings as they passed by. They were in the same state as Canterlot High was in. Windows boarded up, some windows shattered with curtains blowing through the breeze and all doors were either open or broken down.

"So do you know any of my other friends?" Twilight asked.

"Who would they be?"

"Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity."

"Yeah." He replied. "They're all back at the base." This made Twilight smile for the first time since coming here. The fact that her friends were all okay lifted a humongous weight off of her mind. "In fact." Bull said. "Applejack was the one who helped me create this truck. She and her brother are our best mechanics."

"Fascinating." Twilight replied as she gave the truck another look. Even though iron bars lined the windshield, she could still see what was in front of them through the spaces in between. "What do the others do?"

"Lets see...." Bull replied. "I know Rainbow Dash is on a different scavenging team like I am. Rarity makes and fixes all of our outfits, making sure that we aren't exposing any part of our skin to the infected. Pinkie Pie helps out with some of the cooking. And Fluttershy takes care of any stray pets that we find."

"Are there any others there?"

"Well, besides them and Phoenix, there's the other Twilight. She helps out with making plans for recovery of supplies and food. And then there's my new scavenging partner, Adagio Dazzle."

"What?!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise.

"What."

"Adagio Dazzle is there?"

"Yes. Why? You know her?"

"She's a former siren who tried taking over Canterlot High with her sisters."

"So that's why she can sing so well." He replied before looking back at Twilight. "She sometimes sings to us to help raise the morale around the place. Don't worry though. She's anything but evil. She saved my life on a number of occasions. And I've saved her life as well. We got each other's back."

"I see." Twilight said. "Well if she's your partner, how come she isn't here with you?"

"She twisted her ankle on the last run." He replied before turning the truck to the left. This path led to a bridge that spanned across a river that separated in two directions before rejoining once more, creating a small island. As they got closer, Twilight could see a building surrounded by a large concrete barrier with a large metal gate. "But it wasn't anything severe. I just had to carry her back to the base. It did however put her out of action for a couple of weeks."

"Are her sisters there too?"

"I'm afraid not." He replied. "She just showed up at the factory by herself one day, seeking shelter. She said that both of them became infected with the virus and she had to run to save herself from joining their fate."

Twilight let out another gasp when she heard what he said. "That's terrible!"

"Like I said." Bull said before stopping the truck in front of the gate. "We've all suffered from losing loved ones and friends. Some more than others. But we just have to stick together and watch each other's backs. If we do that, then hopefully we'll all make it through this." He then pressed down on the horn three times before the gate slowly opened, allowing the truck to enter before closing again. As he brought the truck up to the main building, Twilight could see people looking and waving at them as they passed, prompting her to wave back.

"It looks so.... calm here." She said as the truck came to a stop.

"One of the few safe places left in all of Canterlot." Bull said before getting out. Twilight reached down and pulled the door handle before pushing on the door itself. It was heavy with all of the added metal, but she managed to get it open before stepping out onto the dirt below. After closing her door, she walked over to Bull before both of them started to walk toward the main door leading inside. Once in, Twilight looked around as Bull led her down a small hallway before stopping at a door. "I'm sure you'll be happy to find who is on the other side." He said before knocking on it three times.

"Who is it?" A voice asked from inside.

"It's Bull, Sunset." He replied. "I brought the survivor here with me as I was instructed to."

"Bring her in." She said before Bull placed his hand on the door knob and gave it a twist. He then pushed lightly on the door until it swung open all the way. Once that was done, both of them stepped inside to find Sunset Shimmer looking at a map on the wall, holding a red marker in her hand. "So...." She said as she started to turn around. "Who is this surviv-"

Sunset's eyes locked onto Twilight's as they both stared at each other for a moment. The marker in her hand was soon dropped as both girls stared at each other.

"Twilight?"

"Sunset!" Twilight exclaimed with joy as she raced over and grabbed onto her before wrapping her arms around her friend's body. "I'm so glad to see you again!" Tears of joy ran down her face as she held Sunset tightly in her grasp. Sunset soon returned the favor and wrapped her arms around Twilight.

"How long have you been here for?" Sunset asked.

"I just came here a couple of hours ago." She replied. "But then I got chased by Ms. Cheerilee into town and she would've gotten me if it wasn't for Bull." This made Sunset look over at him with tearful eyes while keeping Twilight close.

"Thank you." She said. "Thank you so much for saving her."

"You're welcome, Sunset." He replied before turning to leave. "I'll just go ahead and check on how Adagio is doing. Plus I bet the two of you have lots to catch up on. Let me know if you need anything."

"Alright." Sunset replied. As Bull closed the door behind him, Sunset looked back at Twilight who was looking back at her. "I'm sure Bull explained the whole situation to you?"

"Yes."

"Good." She said before motioning for Twilight to sit down in a chair. Twilight nodded before doing so. "Sorry I haven't written to you in a while." Sunset said before sitting down in a chair next to her. "I'm sure you've seen the reason why."

"Don't be sorry, Sunset." Twilight replied. "I'm just glad to know that you're okay." A thought then flew into her mind as she remembered what she told Spike. "Do you still have the journal?"

"Yeah." She said. "Why?"

"I need to send a message to Spike. I need to tell him that I'm alright and that I found you and the others."

"Alright." Sunset said. "Wait right here and I'll grab it."

"Okay." Twilight replied as Sunset got up and walked out of the room. While she was gone, Twilight got up and walked over to where the map was hanging. "This must be a map of Canterlot." She thought as she looked at all of the areas with X's over them and circles around other places.

"The areas with X's are areas that I don't allow our scavenger teams to go to." Sunset said, making Twilight jump as she walked back into the room with the journal in her hands. "According to our scouting teams, those areas are filled with the infected. The risk of losing one or more people is too great to send them there for supplies."

"And the ones with circles?"

"Areas that have mostly remained untouched." She replied before handing the journal and a pen to Twilight. "The risk of running into an infected person is much less in those areas."

"I see." Twilight replied before she tried to write a message in the book. Unfortunately, she never did learn how to write with these hands. "Could I ask a favor, Sunset?"

"Need me to write for you?" Twilight's cheeks turned red before she slowly nodded while giving the journal and pen back to Sunset. "Alright." She replied. "Ready to write."

Dear Spike,
I just wanted to let you know that I am safe and have found Sunset Shimmer and the rest of our friends. Things in this world are very different from when I was here last. Turns out that the pony that we encountered back before I came here was not a zombie, but rather a person infected with a virus called the "Green Flu". Don't worry. You won't get it. It only spreads through getting bitten by an infected person.
Please tell the others that I am safe. I'm sure they must be worried sick if you told them that I was in a world with 'zombies'. But I still want you to keep the portal closed until I am ready to come back. Under no circumstances are you to open it otherwise, no matter what. We can not risk letting this virus spread into Equestria.
Stay out of trouble and make sure to give Starlight some time to relax. I'm sure she must have worked pretty hard at Sweet Apple Acres.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle
(P.S. This is Sunset writing for Twilight since she hasn't learned to write with hands yet.)

"And.... done." Sunset said before closing the journal. "Sorry I didn't reply earlier. I didn't even know you wrote to me."

"It's alright, Sunset." Twilight replied. "At least I now know that you're safe."

"So do you want to go see the rest of our friends?" Sunset asked. "I'm sure they'd be thrilled to see you."

"Yes!" She exclaimed with joy, making Sunset giggle before both of them started to leave the room.

Chapter Three

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"I can't wait to see the rest of our friends." Twilight said as she and Sunset walked down the hallway. "Its been so long since I last seen them."

"I'm sure they'll be happy when they see you." Sunset replied before stopping to open a door leading into a large open room. Twilight peeked inside to find several dozens of foldable cots. "This is our bunk room." Sunset said as she motioned inside with her hand. "This is where we all sleep or just relax. I'm sure that we can find a bed in here for you to sleep on." As she said this, Twilight kept looking around the room. Soon, her eyes caught sight of Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity as they all were laying down on their cots. Keeping what Bull had told her in mind, she didn't think Applejack would be in here. But that still left one of her friends missing.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?"

"We sent her, Spitfire, and Soarin out a little while ago to gather some food that will replenish our pantry." Sunset replied. "All part of what the scavenger teams do. They're Scavenger One. Bulls Eye and Adagio are Scavenger Two." This made Twilight remember what Bull said he was doing before coming to her aid. "If it wasn't for them, this entire base would run out of food and supplies really quickly."

"Do you force them to go out?"

"Of course not!" Sunset replied. "I would never do something like that. If someone didn't want to go, I wouldn't make them. Each one of them volunteered to do it." She then looked over at the three girls on their cots. "Come on." She said before stepping inside. Twilight nodded her head before following her in.

Once inside, Twilight saw many other people that she knew. Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were over in a corner of the room, providing music that sounded beautiful. Vice Principal Luna was asleep in her cot. Lyra and Bon Bon were standing over by a window. Trixie was sitting with the other Twilight, talking about something. She even found the human versions of the cutie mark crusaders talking with Big Mac.

"So many of our friends are here." Twilight said. "I'm glad to see lots of familiar faces."

"Yeah." Sunset replied. "It is nice." She then sighed a bit, a bit softly, but loud enough to where Twilight could still hear it. "But so many others didn't make it."

"Like who?"

"Granny Smith, Bulk Biceps, Mr. and Mrs. Cake along with their children, Snips, Snails, and Flash Sentry just to name a few."

"Flash didn't make it?" Twilight asked before feeling Sunset put a hand on her shoulder. She just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Twi." She said. "But if it makes you feel any better, he sacrificed himself so that your human counterpart was able to make it here."

This did make Twilight feel a little bit better, but it still didn't stop a tear from streaking down her cheek. Sunset saw this and soon gave her a comforting hug. They stayed like this for a little bit before Sunset pulled away and took hold of her hand. "Come on." She said. "Lets give the girls something they'll be happy about."

Twilight just nodded as Sunset quietly led her over toward the three girls. Each of them were facing away from both of them, making the humanized alicorn think that they were sleeping.

"Hey girls." Sunset said. "Look who decided to drop by."

Slowly, all three of them rolled over to face her only for each of their faces to show their own unique expressions of joy when they saw who was with her.

"Twilight!" They all said in unison before each of them got up and instantly pulled her in for a group hug. The combined strength of all three of them against her made it hard to breathe, but she didn't mind. She was just happy to be reunited with her friends.

"Its been so long, dear." Rarity said as they all let her go. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good." Twilight replied. "Still trying to wrap my mind around what happened here."

"To be honest, it all still feels like a horrible nightmare." Fluttershy said. "But it isn't. And now there are so many cats, dogs, and birds that no longer have anyone to care for them other than me."

"I know, Fluttershy." Sunset replied before putting a hand on her shoulder. "But at least they have you. That's better than nothing."

"I guess so." She replied.

"I can't believe you made it here, Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed. "If I had the ingredients, I'd bake you a 'Welcome back' cake."

Twilight chuckled at what she said. "Thanks Pinkie. But you don't have to."

"What's going on?" A voice asked from behind. Twilight turned around only to find herself face to face with her human counterpart. "Oh!" She said before giving her pony counterpart a sheepish smile."Uh.... hey there, other me. How's it going?"

"I've been pretty good." Twilight replied after getting over the shock of seeing her. "And you?"

"More or less the same, I suppose." She said. "So uh.... how long have you been in town for?"

"I just got here a couple of hours ago."

"So you must have been the survivor that Bull was talking about over the walkie."

"Yep. That was me."

"How exactly did you find him?"

"Well...." Twilight said. "It was more of him finding me rather than me finding him. I was being chased by Ms. Cheerilee before I found myself trapped in an alley between Sugarcube Corner and some other building with her blocking the only way out. Then Bull came along and rescued me."

"Aww." Rarity said. "Darn. If I wasn't so sure he had a crush on Adagio, I'd give him a kiss for saving you." This made all the girls around her look at her before she soon realized what she had said. Her cheeks instantly turned red as they all started giggling.

"Speaking of Adagio and Bull." Twilight said before looking around. "Where are they?"

"In the recovery room." Sunset replied. "Come on. I'll show it to you."

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on things." The human Twilight said. Sunset just nodded as she, Twilight, and the rest of their friends left the room.

"I'm still not used to seeing another me." Twilight said as the group walked. "It just feels so strange."

"I'm sure the feeling is mutual for her." Sunset replied.

"So where is Applejack?"

"In the garage, working on a few vehicles." She replied. "It's on the way to where Bull and Adagio are so we can stop and let you talk for a bit."

"Sounds good." Twilight replied. As the group walked, they passed by a few large windows. Twilight stopped walking for a bit to look out of one. Upon doing so, she found a few people up on a metal walkway attached to the upper portion of the concrete wall surrounding the factory. Her eyes widened when they caught sight of one of the people up there. "Is that Principal Celestia?" She asked, making Sunset look out as well.

"Yep." Sunset replied. "She's in charge of the daytime watch that keeps an eye out for any infected that gets too close to us."

"And I take it Vice Principal Luna does the same, but at night. Right?" Sunset just nodded as a response.

"In a way, it's kinda like what Princess Celestia and Princess Luna do back in Equestria." She said before they all started walking again. "So far, we have yet to have any infected breach that wall."

"That's good to hear." Twilight replied. After several minutes of walking, the group stopped outside a metal door with a small window built into it. Looking inside, Twilight could see Applejack, or at least her legs, as she was working underneath a truck that was bigger than any she had seen before. "What is she working on in there?"

"Looks like she's working on Ol' Betsy." Sunset replied before pushing on the door to open it.

"Ol' Betsy?"

"That's the name she gave for this truck." She said as the group entered the large room. "Once done, that truck could basically clear a path through anything. Damaged cars, hordes of infected, it could probably even smash through a concrete wall if it had to."

"Woah."

"Applejack!" Sunset called out.

"Ow!" Applejack cried out as the sound of something metal dropping to the concrete floor echoed throughout the room. "Dag nabbit!"

"Are you alright, dear?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah." She replied. "I'm fine. What're ya'll doin' in here?"

"Well we wanted you to see who decided to pay us a visit." Sunset replied before Applejack slowly scooted herself out from underneath the truck.

"Well I'll be." She said as her eyes focused on Twilight. "Good to see you again, Twilight."

"It's great to see you too, Applejack." She replied before Applejack got up and promptly gave her a hug. But when she let go, there were oil stains left on Twilight's shirt where her hands were.

"Whoops." She said. "Sorry bout that."

"It's alright." She replied. "I'm sure it can come out."

"Yes." Rarity said. "I'll be sure to get that out for you later on."

"So what brings you here, Twi?" Applejack asked before walking over to a sink mounted on the wall to wash her hands.

"Well I originally was going to come here for a visit, but when I opened the portal, an infected came through and tried to attack me."

"Did you kill it?"

"No." She said, making everyone around her gasp. "I just put a sleeping spell on it and sent it back through the portal before coming here myself." Once she said that, she could hear multiple sighs of relief.

"I see." Applejack said as she dried her hands off.

"Then she got chased by Ms. Cheerilee until she got cornered in an alley. But Bullseye came in and rescued her before bringing her here." Pinkie explained.

"Well, at least you're safe here, Twilight." Applejack said before walking back over and placing her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "And when you're ready to go back to Equestria, just give me the word and Ol' Betsy and I can take you to the portal."

"Thanks Applejack." Twilight replied. "But I don't think I'll be going back to Equestria for a while yet."

"How come?"

"Well I can't just leave you guys now that I know about all of this." She said. "What if I leave and you guys become infected?"

"As long as we stay safe and avoid the infected, that won't happen." Sunset replied.

"Well..... maybe you guys could come back with me."

"I'm not so sure that that's a good idea, Twilight. Think about the possible effects there could be of having multiple doubles of most of the ponies."

"But what about me being here along with the other Twilight?"

"That's just one case." Sunset replied as she held up a finger. "What you're suggesting would result in at least several dozens of duplicates, including duplicates of the Princesses. That alone may cause confusion and chaos back in Equestria."

Twilight sighed when she heard that. She knew Sunset had a point. "Well at least let me send you supplies through the portal. It would lessen the stress on the Scavenger teams to find things you need." Sunset opened her mouth to talk again, but immediately closed it before she started rubbing her chin as she thought about what her friend said. She then smacked herself in the forehead and groaned.

"I suppose that would make things easier for us. Especially since I still have the journal."

"Why didn't you think about that sooner, Sunset?" Applejack asked. Sunset turned her gaze toward her friend after hearing that. This question clearly struck a nerve inside her as her hands started to clench themselves into fists while her whole body began to shake due to the anger toward herself.

"I don't know!" She snapped before throwing her hands up in the air. "I guess it just didn't come to mind when all of this first started! It's not like I was prepared for something like this to happen!" Applejack and the others stepped back slightly after hearing this. Sunset saw this and looked around before she sighed heavily. "I'm sorry." She said. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"No." Applejack said. "I should be the one saying sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No. You're right." She said. "I should've thought about asking for help sooner, but I didn't." She then sighed again. "Maybe it was wrong for me to be the one in charge."

"Don't say that, Sunset." Applejack said before placing a hand on her shoulder. "You've done a great job as our leader. So you made a mistake. Big deal. We all make mistakes." Sunset then felt the rest of her friends place a hand on her. As she looked, they all nodded their heads in agreement with Applejack.

"But my mistake cost the life of one of our Scavengers." She said before a few tears started to streak down her face. "That's something I'll have to carry for the rest of my life now."

"Don't blame yourself, Sunset." A voice said from behind. Turning around, she saw Bull standing in the doorway leading into the garage. "Steel volunteered to be a Scavenger. He knew the risk just as much as the rest of us do, but he still did it so we could survive."

"But he didn't have to." Sunset replied, the tears now streaming down her cheeks. "None of you would have had to risk your lives if I had thought about asking for help." She then felt him place his hand on her shoulder.

"At least he died for a purpose, rather than getting killed randomly in the street by an infected." He said before he gave her a hug. "Even though I wasn't there when it happened, I know he went down fighting with everything he had. Honestly, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. But all of that is in the past now. There's nothing we can do about it. We just have to move on and continue to survive."

"He's right, Sunset." Twilight said as he let her out of the hug. "Even I make mistakes from time to time. But when I do, I learn from it and make sure that it never happens again."

Sunset sighed again before looking at her friends. Each of them were giving her a reassuring smile that made her feel a little bit better.

"Okay Twilight." She said. "When you go back, I'll be sure to write to you with everything that we need." Twilight nodded her head as Sunset looked over at Bull. "Guess you and the rest of the Scavengers will have less to worry about now."

Bull just nodded his head before a faint voice could be heard coming from his walkie. To hear it better, he turned up the volume to where the voice could be heard clearly.

"Scavenger One to Base!" Rainbow's voice said. "Come in, Base!" Hearing this, Bull unhooked the walkie from his belt before handing it to Sunset.

"This is Phoenix." She said. "What do you need, Rainbow?"

"We got ambushed by a horde of infected!" She replied. "We managed to barricade ourselves in a safe room, but I don't know how long we can hold out for!"

"Where are you?!"

"Canterlot Grocery!" She replied. "We need help! Get here as soon a-" The voice suddenly cut out, making everyone gasp.

"Rainbow?" Sunset asked. "Rainbow Dash! Come in!" There was no response. "Spitfire! Soarin! Anyone!" Her hands started trembling as no one replied to her call. "No...." She said. "Not them....."

"I'm going." Bull said before turning away to leave.

"Not by yourself!" Sunset replied before grabbing him by the arm. "I'm going with you. I'm not letting anyone else die because of my mistake if I can help it."

"Me too, pardner." Applejack said. "I can't stand by and let those infected take my friends. They already took Granny from me! I ain't lettin' them take anyone else without a fight!"

"I'll come as well." Twilight added. "What kind of friend would I be if I just stayed here while she was in trouble."

"Alright." Bull said. "But two of ya'll will have to ride in the bed. The truck can only seat two."

"That's fine." Sunset replied before looking at Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. "You guys are in charge until we get back. Keep everyone calm. We don't need people panicking."

"Yes ma'am." Pinkie replied before saluting.

"Be careful." Fluttershy said. "And be safe."

"Bring them all back safely if you can." Rarity said before everyone gathered together for a group hug. Once done, Twilight, Sunset, Bull, and Applejack all started running toward the main doors of the factory.

"Grab and go, ladies!" Bull called out. "Get your weapons and meet me at the truck!"

"On it!" Sunset yelled back before she and Applejack raced down a different hall, leaving him and Twilight as they continued on.

"What about me?" Twilight asked. "I don't have anything!" Bulls Eye looked back at her as the two ran before he slowed down and undid one of the straps around his body.

"Here." He said before handing Twilight his sword. "I'd give you a gun but considering you've never even seen one before today, that would be a really bad idea."

"But that's your friend's sword."

"Ain't like he'll be needing it." Bull replied before Twilight took hold of the blade in its sheath. "Plus its better than nothing. The rest of us will do our best to cover you though." Once they reached the doors, Bull kicked them open and rushed out to the truck as Twilight chose to wait for her friends. A minute or so passed before Sunset and Applejack appeared, dressed in clothing that covered all of their skin while also wearing biker helmets to cover their heads. Sunset also had a set of clothes and helmet for Twilight to wear as well.

As the two girls helped Twilight get suited up, Bull brought the truck around and pulled up in front of them. Twilight then got inside the cab while Sunset and Applejack climbed into the bed. With everyone on, Bull then brought the truck up to the gate and waited for it to open before flooring the gas pedal, making the truck race out of the lot before getting out onto the highway.

"Please let them be alright!" Twilight thought to herself as the truck raced on down the road. "And Princess Celestia. Please forgive me for what I might have to do."

Chapter Four

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The journey from the factory to Canterlot Grocery didn't last long as the truck soon entered the parking lot outside the store. As Twilight looked around the lot, the first thing she saw was a blue car that was modified with iron bars lining the windows, but no plow on the front.

"Well, their car's still here." Bull said as he brought the truck to a stop next to it. "That means they must either still be inside or they had to run on foot."

"I just hope they're alright." Twilight replied as she got out. Once she closed her door, she looked around again. But to her surprise, the area was devoid of any infected individuals. "I don't understand." She said as Sunset walked up beside her. "Where is the horde that Rainbow mentioned?"

"I'm not sure." Sunset replied while also looking around. "Maybe most of them left before we got here." Twilight then noticed the large gun in her friend's hands. It looked different from what she saw Bull use.

"What kind of gun is that?" She asked before pointing at it.

"This?" She replied. "Just something Bull found for me a couple of months ago. It's called an AK-47. A high powered semi-automatic rifle that shoots really fast." She then pulled out a smaller gun, one that she only needed one hand to hold. "And this is my desert eagle. One of the strongest handguns ever made. It can easily kill an infected with one shot to the head."

Twilight gulped. "The head?"

"Most effective way to put them out of their misery." Bull replied while coming up behind her. "One shot there and it's over."

"You got that right." Applejack added as she joined the rest of the group. "I'm gonna make sure that these things pay for taking Granny away from me and the rest of the family." In her hands was a gun that looked similar to Bull's except it was a bit bigger and didn't have a sliding part on the bottom.

"That the rifle Steel found for you, AJ?" Bull asked.

"Eeyup." She replied in her own version of Big Mac's response. "Hasn't let me down yet."

"Good to hear." He said before he started making his way toward the building with the rest close behind. As they got closer, Twilight nervously clutched her sword, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement. She was so nervous that she jumped when she felt Sunset lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Twilight." She said in a calm tone. "We'll make sure that you won't have as much contact with the infected as we will." Seeing her friend being calm did help as the shaking did die down a bit, but she was still nervous. As the group came to the doors, or at least where they once were, all of them became quiet to hear for any sign of someone or something inside.

"Follow me." Bull whispered before he started making his way inside. The three girls nodded in response before doing the same. Inside the store, Twilight saw that each cash register was open, only to have nothing inside each drawer. The aisles were littered with open things of food, ranging from crackers, cookies, chips, even half empty bottles of pop could be seen.

"This place looks like it got raided a while ago." Sunset whispered as she looked around. "Look at all of this wasted food."

"I know." Applejack replied. "Such a shame."

"Yeah, this place is still pretty much in the same condition it was in the last time I was here." Bull said. "Adagio and I came here on a run a week ago and picked up quite a lot."

"I can tell." Sunset replied as she saw multiple empty spaces on the shelves. "Makes sense as to why Rainbow and the others came here as well then, I guess."

"I still don't see any infected though." Twilight said as she kept looking around, prompting the rest of them to as well. Besides them, the store seemed to be deserted. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Only one way to find out for sure if we're the only ones here." Bull replied before making his way over to a shelf that had a few jars of pickles sitting on it. Taking one into his hand, he then turned and hurled it at the nearest wall. The glass jar broke on contact, sending bits of glass, pickles, and the pickle juice all over the area around. After that, the group stood still, not making any sounds. A few seconds passed until they heard some noises coming from the back of the store.

"Guess we're not alone after all." Sunset said before an infected person appeared in her sight. The person cried out before he started running toward the group. Sunset soon aimed her AK at the incoming threat before she pulled the trigger, sending dozens of bullets flying into his body before he collapsed onto the floor. She then walked up to him while pulling out her handgun before putting a shot into the back of his head.

"W-was that necessary?" Twilight asked.

"Yes." She replied before walking back to the group. "I've seen infected people get up after taking similar hits. Like Bull said. One clean shot to the head and it's done."

"You've learned well." Bull said, earning a smile from her. He then looked around the store again. "Judging by how nothing else is happening, that may have been the only one here."

"Seems so." She replied. "Come on. Let's go find Rainbow and the others." Each of them nodded in response before they all started making their way toward the back of the store. "I bet Rainbow's gonna flip out when she sees that no one is here anymore."

"Yeah." Applejack replied. "She's gonna be so mad when she finds out that this place is empty." But as the group entered the backroom though, things looked much different. A small group of infected were all gathered around a partially open metal door, trying desperately to get inside. "Or...... maybe not." She said.

"Keep that door shut!" Rainbow's voice could be heard calling out from the room.

"I'm trying!" Soarin replied. "There's just too many!"

"Where the heck are Sunset and the others?!" Spitfire asked as it looked like all three of them were doing the best they could to keep the door closed.

*BOOM*

The sound of Applejack's rifle going off echoed around the room before one of the infected fell to the floor, shrieking in pain.

"Don't worry, ya'll." She called out while reloading. "We're here to save ya."

"Ready...." Sunset said as the group now had the undivided attention of each of the infected. Within seconds, every single one of them began sprinting toward them. "Aim...." Each gun was soon pointed directly at the approaching threat as Twilight did her best to stay behind Bull. "Fire!" Upon hearing that word, Bull and Applejack both started shooting their guns, scoring many hits as they got close. Sunset then proceeded to unleash the power of her own gun, spraying bullets into each infected before Bull and AJ finished them off.

From her place behind them, Twilight could see the effect that this was having as the infected were falling well before they were within a threatening distance. But soon, her eyes caught sight of an infected trying to sneak through the door that they came through. Sensing that none of her friends could turn to get him without sacrificing their contribution to keeping the main threat at bay, she clutched her sword tightly and made her decision.

"Time to put all those lessons with Shining to use." She thought before charging toward the lone infected. Her opponent let out a shriek before doing the same. "Forgive me, Celestia!" She called out while closing her eyes before swinging the blade with all of her might. Not even two seconds later, she felt the blade make contact. The feeling was brief, lasting only a second or so, but the sound of two things hitting the concrete floor made Twilight open her eyes to see what had happened.

The blade itself was now covered in blood while more of it was on her clothes. Luckily for her though, she wasn't hurt at all. As for the infected, his decapitated body was laying on the floor just a foot away from her with his head not much further. The blade appeared to slice cleanly through his neck. The sight of this made Twilight begin trembling as her eyes drifted to the blood covered steel.

"I...... I......" She stammered as the blood started to drip off onto the floor.

"Woah...." Bull's voice said, making her jump before spinning around to find the three of them looking at her with their mouths agape.

"I never thought I'd ever see you do something like that." Sunset added in an impressed tone. "Where did you learn to use a sword?"

"S-Shining Armor t-taught me." She stuttered, still trying to process what she had just done.

"Very impressive." Bull replied. "I honestly wasn't expecting that at all." He then noticed how much Twilight was shaking as a result of what she did. Looking at both Sunset and Applejack, he soon walked over and gave her a hug. "Thanks for watching our backs." This did seem to have an effect on the humanized alicorn as her shakiness slowly stopped before he let go.

"You're welcome." She replied before looking at Sunset and Applejack. Both of them each gave her a thumbs up in response, making a smile appear on her face. After that, the sound of the metal door behind them opening echoed throughout the room. Turning toward it, the group saw Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Soarin all walk out of the room with sweat dripping off of their faces. They all looked exhausted from holding the door shut against that many infected.

"You guys alright?" Sunset asked as she started walking toward them.

"Yeah." Rainbow replied between deep breaths. "We're fine."

"Good thing you guys came when you did." Soarin said before wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "Otherwise I don't know how much longer we could've lasted."

"Yeah." Spitfire agreed. "Those guys just wouldn't quit."

"Well you're safe now." Twilight replied, making Rainbow look up instantly.

"Woah woah woah." She said. "Twilight? Is that really you?"

"Yep."

"Oh man! Its been so long since I last saw you!" She exclaimed before running over and giving her friend a hug. "Really wish this was under better circumstances. But hey. Beggars can't be choosers."

"It's good to see you too, Rainbow." Twilight replied before returning the hug. "I'm just glad to see that you're safe."

"So what exactly happened?" Sunset asked.

"Well it started out pretty much the same as it always did." Rainbow replied before letting Twilight out of the hug. "Seeing as how Bull and Adagio were able to get lots of food from here before, we figured that there was still some that they left behind or couldn't carry. Turns out that there was plenty still here for us to grab."

"So we started loading the car up with every piece of food we could salvage from here." Soarin continued. "But after we finished loading the trunk, we saw a small group of infected just a few blocks away, coming straight for us!"

"They must've been able to smell the food or something. I don't know." Spitfire said. "But we realized that being out in the open against a group of infected probably wasn't the best idea. So we chose to retreat inside and barricaded ourselves in the dairy cooler. Surprisingly, the thing held up until the infected started charging at the door all at once. That's when things started to get intense."

"And that's when you showed up." Rainbow said. "Thank you guys so much for helping us out."

"Hey. What are friends for?" Sunset asked before all of them started to make their way out of the back room.

"Well at least now we'll have food that can last us for quite a while. Now lets just get in our cars and head back to base." She replied. But as they got closer to the front of the store, noises could be heard coming from outside. "Hold up." She said, making everyone stop. "You guys hear that?" Not even a second passed before the car that they came in suddenly came smashing through the front of the store, sending dust and debris flying through the air, before it came to rest upside down against the back wall. Each set of eyes were wide open, glued on the unexpected arrival that was once Scavenger One's car before a loud noise could be heard from the outside. Slowly, each of their heads turned to find a large horde of infected outside with a very large, yet familiar looking infected person smack dab in the center, holding up the truck that Bull and the others came in.

"Is that.... Bulk?" Soarin asked.

"I..... think.... so." Sunset replied while slowly backing away. "And it looks like he's been doing lots of workouts."

"YEAH!" Bulk roared before hurling the truck straight at them.

"Take cover!" Bull called out before each of them ducked as the truck came flying through the gaping hole in the wall before smashing into the car. When the dust settled again, each of them gazed as the car and truck were now completely totaled.

"Sweet Celestia......" Twilight said softly before Bulk roared again, making all of them jump back up to their feet before the horde of infected started to rush into the store. Seeing this, each of them immediately started sprinting as fast as they could back the way they came before bursting through the doors leading into the backroom.

"Through there!" Spitfire yelled while pointing at the fire door. Not wasting any time, Sunset kicked open the door, predictably resulting in the alarm beginning to go off, but none of them cared at this point as each of them raced through the door before Bull slammed it shut again.

"That ain't gonna hold them back for long." Soarin said as they all started running through the street. Sure enough, he would be proven right as the sounds of the infected giving pursuit would soon follow.

Chapter Five

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As the sun started to set behind the buildings of Canterlot, the sounds of infected people chasing the small group of survivors through the streets grew louder as more and more joined the pursuit. Even though three of them were still worn out from their earlier encounter, the group stuck as close to each other as possible, with Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Soarin, and Twilight in the front of the group while Bull, Sunset, and Applejack followed behind. The role of those three in particular was to make sure that any pursuing infected that posed a threat was dealt with before they got too close.

But there was one infected that just didn't seem to be affected at all. That one, of course, being Bulk Biceps. Every time he was shot at, the bullets didn't seem to phase him at all as he just kept on coming.

"How many times has that guy been shot?!" Bull called out while reloading his shotgun.

"I've lost track!" Sunset replied. "He's like a freaking tank or something!"

"Just keep shooting!" Applejack yelled. "He's gotta go down eventually!"

As the trio defended the rear, Twilight and the others kept their attention focused on what was in front of them, making sure that no horde was approaching from head on. So far, at least, the path looked clear aside from abandoned cars and downed street lights. Twilight knew that Rainbow and the others could not go for much longer, judging by how she could easily keep pace with them. Under normal circumstances, she was sure that the three members of Scavenger One could easily outrun her.

"We need to find somewhere to stop!" Twilight said. "I don't know how much longer we can keep going at this pace!"

"She's right!" Spitfire replied while wiping sweat off of her forehead. "We need to find someplace to regroup!"

"That sounds good to me!" Sunset yelled before firing her AK at Bulk, which still didn't phase him. "But we can't do that with Ultra Bulk breathing down our necks!"

Looking back, Twilight realized that her friend was right. Bulk was now at the front of the pack of pursuing infected, now shielding the others from incoming fire, and she could see that the distance between them and the ends of each gun firing was slowly beginning to close. Turning back around, she soon found that they were coming up to Canterlot High. The memory of what transpired earlier that day with Ms. Cheerilee started to flood her mind. If she was in there, who knows if there were more. But the chance of losing the horde in there was worth the risk of running into more infected. Plus, this time she was prepared.

"Maybe we could hide in there!" She called out before pointing at the school. Sunset turned her head while still firing at Bulk to see what Twilight was talking about.

"It's worth a shot!" She replied before they all started running toward the main doors. As they ran, Applejack tripped while going up the steps and fell down.

"Applejack!" Bull cried out while turning around. The infected were closing in fast as he ran back outside to her side.

"Just go on without me!" She yelled.

"No way!" He replied before he reached into a pocket and pulled a small device out. He then pressed a button on it, making a small red light begin flashing. "Fire in the hole!" He called out before hurling it at the infected. Surprisingly, they all turned their respective attentions away from the duo on the steps and ran after the device as it bounced out toward the street, passing the statue. "Come on." He said while offering a hand to Applejack.

"Why'd you do that?" She asked before taking his hand.

"I already lost one friend to these bastards." He replied while helping her up. "I ain't losing another if I can still help it." As soon as she got back onto her feet, the device that Bull had thrown detonated in the street, taking out a good portion of the infected that had chosen to swarm around it. Seeing their numbers suddenly dwindle, the remaining infected just looked at them for a moment before they decided to withdraw. "That's right! Run!" Bull called out. "Plenty more where that came from!" He then started looking around the now vacated courtyard. "Wait a minute." He said. "Where's the big guy?" This made Applejack look around as well, only to confirm what her friend was asking. Bulk Biceps was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know, pardner." She replied. "But lets not stick around and wait for him to show up."

"Good idea." He replied before the two of them made their way inside. Once in, they found the others waiting for them by the demolished trophy case that was now empty.

"You guys alright?" Rainbow asked as they walked over.

"Yeah. We're fine." Applejack replied. "Just tripped on the steps and Bull used a pipe bomb to drive off the infected."

"Pipe bomb?" Twilight asked. "What's that?"

"A small explosive device that seems to gain any infected's attention." Sunset replied before pulling one out of her jacket's pocket to show to her. "Just press and hold the button here down for a bit and it'll detonate in roughly ten seconds. Just make sure to throw it away as hard as you can though. We usually use them as a last resort or in an emergency." She then turned to look at Applejack and Bull. "You guys take Bulk out with that too?"

"No. He just disappeared." Bull replied. "I have no idea where he went to."

"Huh." She said. "Must've taken too much damage for his liking and gone off to avoid dying then."

"I guess so."

"I'm gonna try and see about getting us a ride back to base." She said before pulling out her walkie. "But while we're waiting, we might as well make sure that no other infected are here. Who knows how long we'll be here for." The rest of the group nodded before Sunset brought the walkie up to her lips. "Phoenix to Base. Come in, Base. Over."

"I hope that Sunset and the others are alright." Fluttershy said as she, Pinkie, and Rarity all stood on the elevated walkway that encircled the factory. "They've been gone for quite a while now."

"I'm sure they're fine, darling." Rarity replied. "If something was wrong, I'm sure we'd have heard something over the walkie by now."

"Indeed." A voice said from behind. Turning around, the trio found Principal Celestia and Adagio Dazzle standing on the walkway.

"Good evening, Principal Celestia." Rarity said. "And to you as well, Adagio. How is your ankle doing?"

"It has felt better." The former siren replied. "But for now, it's alright. I just wanted to come out and see if Bull made it back yet."

"Not yet, I'm afraid." She replied. "Though I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"Where did they go to?" Celestia asked.

"They went to go save Scavenger One out at Canterlot Grocery." Pinkie replied.

"Huh. Bull and I were there a week ago and came back with no trouble at all." Adagio said. "Guess we were just lucky then."

"But they haven't said anything on the walkie yet though." Celestia said while unhooking her walkie from her pants. "So that should mean that everything is-"

"Phoenix to Base. Come in, Base. Over." Sunset's voice said from the walkie, cutting off Celestia's voice. As soon as her voice was heard, all eyes were glued to it as Celestia brought the walkie up to her lips.

"This is Base, Sunset." She replied. "What do you need?"

"We have a problem." Sunset's voice replied.

"What kind of problem?"

"Both our vehicle and Scavenger One's vehicle have been destroyed, along with all of the food that Rainbow and the others had gathered. We're all now taking shelter at Canterlot High, but we need a lift back."

"How many are with you?"

"Just me, Applejack, Bull, Twilight, Rainbow, Spitfire, and Soarin."

"Did you say Twilight was with you too?" She asked, seemingly confused as she could see Twilight standing by one of the power generators with Big Mac.

"Yes. Not this world's, but Equestria's." Celestia's face suddenly acquired a surprised expression when she heard that as she looked at the three girls in front of her. All of them just nodded to confirm what their friend had said.

"Understood." Celestia said. "I'll have the Lifeboat deployed to your location right away."

"Sounds good." Sunset replied. "Phoenix out." With that said, Celestia hooked the walkie back onto the edge of her pants and started to make her way toward the staircase that she and Adagio had climbed up just minutes earlier with Adagio, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all in tow.

"So that pony Princess has come back?" Adagio asked. "Its been quite a long time since the last time I saw her."

"Yes." Rarity replied. "Though she was wanting to see you earlier. I guess she wanted to see how much you've changed since the Battle of the Bands."

"I see." She said. "Then what better way to show her how much I've changed than to come along and help save not only her royal skin but my partner as well."

"You do seem to care about Bull quite a lot, don't you."

"Yeah? So what. He's my partner."

"In more ways than just one?" Rarity asked, making the former siren stop before turning to look at her.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Well I was just wondering is all." She replied. "You do seem to be much nicer whenever he's around."

Adagio sighed as she moved with the group toward the building. "It's because when I first came here, he and his friend were the first two that I encountered. I told them about how me and my sisters were attacked by a small group of the infected. How I was the only one able to get away while my sisters fell and became the very things that we have to stay away from." Rarity and the others remained quiet as she continued. "They brought me to Sunset and Bull offered to have me sleep in his cot while he slept somewhere else, just so I had a safe place to rest my head."

"Aww." Pinkie said, interrupting the moment. Adagio and Rarity simply stared at her for a bit as they walked until she moved her thumb and index finger across her lips.

"Anyways....." Adagio continued. "He and his friend treated me like they knew me their whole lives. They taught me how to use a gun, took me to an abandoned gun store for target practice, and even let me pick out my own weapon. And..... for the first time since my sisters became infected, I was..... happy." Rarity couldn't help but smile when she heard Adagio say that. "But then the day came when he and his friend went out to that supermarket for food. I was looking forward to when they would come back. We were gonna go out for target practice later on. But when the truck came back and only Bull was in it with his friend's sword, it was like looking in a mirror of how I was."

"I remember that day very well." Rarity replied. "Bull hasn't really recovered from it yet, has he."

"When you lose someone close to you, whether it's a family member or a close friend, the pain never really goes away." She replied. "He kept to himself for a few days or so afterwards. I don't blame him for doing so. But after a while, he started to come around. One day, he came up to me and asked if I wanted to go out for target practice. Naturally, I agreed. But when we got to the place where we practice, a few infected people attacked us."

"Oh my! What happened?"

"Well.... I was still kinda learning how to use my gun." She replied. "Trial by fire isn't exactly the best way for me to learn something. But when I was about to be bitten, Bull saved me by jamming the stock of his shotgun right into the side of the infected's head, sending him to the ground, before turning it around and firing at point blank range, blowing the head clean off." Rarity's eyes widened when she heard that. "Afterward, he told me that if he was going to lose another friend, the infected would have to go through him first."

"So he's your protector?"

"Not just mine." She replied. "He'd protect any one of us, even if it put himself at risk. That's how much Steel's death changed him."

"I see." Rarity replied. "But I've also seen the way that he's been looking at you lately too." This made Adagio raise an eyebrow at her. "It's almost like he's got...."

"A crush on me?"

"Yeah."

Adagio laughed for a bit after that. "I know exactly what you're talking about. I've caught him looking at me that way quite a few times." She said. "And to be honest, after all we've been through together, I wouldn't mind having him as a boyfriend."

"Oh really." Rarity replied in a playful tone.

"Yeah. I can easily see myself dating him, especially considering the number of times he's saved my life."

"I see." She said as the group entered the garage where Applejack kept all the vehicles. Parked beside Ol' Betsy was an old CHS school bus modified with bars on each window, made so they could still be opened, and a plow on the front. Principal Celestia walked toward the back to open the garage door while the others climbed aboard. Inside the bus, the first few rows of seats were stripped out and replaced with metal cabinets on each side that contained weapons, ammo, first aid, and rations of food.

Once the door was open, Celestia climbed on board herself before getting into the driver's seat and starting the engine. At first, it didn't want to start up right away. But after a few tries, the engine turned over.

"Lets go save our friends." She said as she started backing the modified bus out of the garage.

"Alright." Sunset said as she put her walkie back into her pocket. "Principal Celestia said that the Lifeboat is coming to get us."

"Lifeboat?" Twilight asked.

"It's a modified version of one of CHS' old school buses." Applejack replied. "Which means that they'll be here shortly."

"That's a relief." Rainbow replied. "I can't wait to get back to base."

"I think we all can agree on that." Sunset said. "But while we're waiting, we should see if there's anything that we can salvage from here."

"I suppose." Rainbow said. "But shouldn't someone stay here and watch for the bus?"

"Wouldn't hurt." She replied before looking at the people around her. "Any volunteers?"

"We'll stay." Spitfire replied. "I'm sure that Rainbow and Soarin are worn out, along with myself. Plus with no weapons, we'd be an easy target if there are any infected in here."

"Well where are they at?"

"We uh..... left them..... in the car." Sunset soon smacked herself in the face after hearing that.

"Fine." She replied. "Just be sure to call us on the walkie when the bus gets here."

"You got it."

"Excellent." Sunset said. "Now lets get moving." With that said, she, Twilight, Bull, and Applejack all started making their way down the corridor that led toward the lunch room. "We can start by seeing if there's any food left in here that we can salvage."

"Good thinking, Sunset." Bull replied. "Though I'm not so sure if there would be any left."

"It's worth a look at least." She said. "We're already down two vehicles, loads of ammunition, and whatever amount of food that Rainbow and the others had gathered. What else do we have to lose?"

"I suppose you have a point." He replied. As the group continued on, Sunset couldn't help but notice that Twilight was looking..... different. She wasn't exactly happy and cheerful, but then again none of them were. But she was definitely in a mood that Sunset had never seen her in before.

"You okay, Twi?" She asked before putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Not... really."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just... still trying to get over the fact that I killed someone today." She replied while looking down at the blood stains on her clothes and on the blade of her sword. "I've never had to do something like that before."

"Twilight." Sunset replied before making her stop. "If you didn't kill that infected, he could've gotten me. He could've gotten Bull. Or he could've gotten Applejack. You saved all of us by killing him."

"I know....."

"This world has changed drastically since the last time you were here." She said. "Now, it's kill or be killed."

"Bull said the same thing to me earlier." She replied. "But now I'll have to go back to Equestria and know that a life ended because of me."

"Twi. These infected people are basically as good as dead already." Sunset said. "What you did was end that guy's suffering."

"But what if there was a way to cure them?"

"I honestly don't think one exists, Twi." Sunset replied. "And even if there was, I don't think things here can go back to the way it used to be."

"You know.... things would be much easier if you guys just came with me back to Equestria. I'm sure that we could work out a system that would eliminate any confusion or chaos."

Sunset sighed when she heard what her friend said. "I'll tell you what Twi." She said. "Once we get back to base, how about we put it to a vote with everyone else there."

"On whether to go to Equestria or not?"

Sunset just nodded her head. "Of course, we'd have to speak with Princess Celestia though first. Maybe Spike could have her write to us."

"It's worth a try." Twilight replied before the sound of Bull yelling from several classrooms down the hallway made both of them jump. "What in Equestria?"

"Come on!" Sunset yelled before both of them started running toward the sound. Soon, they found Bull in the lunch room getting punched repeatedly in the body by an infected wearing a hooded sweater.

"Bull!" Twilight called out just as he started fighting back and began to punch the infected in the head as well.

"What in tarnation is going on?" Applejack asked as she walked in just as Bull managed to land a hard right hook to the side of the infected's head, making it fall to the floor. Bull then sat up and surprisingly started to chuckle as he looked at the person before getting up.

"Is he dead?" Sunset asked as Bull bent down to pick up his shotgun.

"No." He replied. "But he will be soon enough." As he started to load the gun, Twilight was able to see a bit of blue hair sticking out from underneath the hood of the sweater. "Nice try, you lousy infected." He said before aiming his shotgun right at the head.

"Wait!" Twilight called out. "Don't shoot!"

"Why not?" Bull asked.

"I.... just want to check something first." She replied before slowly walking over toward the infected. He was still breathing, so Bull must've just knocked him out with that shot to the head.

"What are you doing, Twilight?" Sunset asked. But Twilight didn't reply. With trembling hands, she slowly grabbed hold of the hood before pulling it away, revealing the head for her to see. It didn't even take a second for her to figure out who this infected person was.

"Flash!"

Chapter Six

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The room became engulfed in silence as the humanized alicorn's eyes gazed at her friend for the first time in months. The infected person laying on the floor was indeed Flash Sentry. She'd recognize that hairstyle anywhere. Soon, tears began to form in her eyes as she looked at what the disease had done to him. Just like the others that she had encountered, cuts, sores, and blisters covered with areas of skin she could see.

"Uhh.... you okay, Twilight?" Bull asked while still keeping his gun aimed at Flash's head.

"Please." She said before wiping a tear away. "Don't kill him."

"Twilight." Sunset said as she walked over. "I know it must be hard for you to see him like this. But once he wakes up, he won't hesitate when it comes to attacking one of us again. He almost got Bull for Celestia's sake."

"I know." She said. "But he doesn't deserve to be killed this way. He doesn't even deserve to be killed at all."

"None of them did, Twi." Applejack said before joining the rest of them. "I know it's hard. When I found Granny after she became infected, I couldn't bear the thought of having to kill her. But she posed a threat to me, Big Mac, Applebloom, and anyone else that would've encountered her." She then put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm sorry to say this, Twi. But this needs to happen."

"No it doesn't!" Twilight snapped with tears now streaming down her face before she stepped in front of Bull, shielding Flash from the end of the shotgun. "I won't let it happen!"

"Twilight! You're letting your emotions get the better of you! You're not thinking straight!" Sunset said. "Flash is going to wake up any minute and attack us if we don't kill him now!"

"She's right, Twi." Bull said before moving to where she wasn't in his line of fire anymore. But she only moved again to where she was blocking his shot.

"I'm sorry." She said. "But I just can't let you kill him."

"What would you want us to do with him then?" Sunset asked, now getting frustrated by her friend's actions. This made Twilight turn to look at Flash for a moment.

"What if we.... bring him to Equestria?" She replied. "I'm sure that there's a spell that would cure him. I just know there is."

"Twilight. That does sound nice and all, but the portal is closed and the journal is back at Base." Sunset said. "If we were to do this, we'd have to take him back with us, then bring him back here before sending him through the portal."

"We'd be putting everyone at the factory at risk if we brought him there." Bull said as he tried moving again, only for Twilight to follow once again.

"We wouldn't have to bring him there." Twilight said. "Some of us could stay and watch him while the rest go back. We'd just have to make sure that he wouldn't be able to attack us when he wakes up."

Sunset let a sigh escape her lips. She knew that Twilight wasn't going to let this happen, no matter what she or the others said. "Alright Twi, we'll do it your way then." She then motioned for Bull to put his gun away, to which he begrudgingly obliged. "But the moment he tries to attack any one of us, he's getting shot, no matter how much you beg. Got it?"

"Okay."

"Now we're gonna need a chair, lots of duct tape, and a cloth to put over his mouth." Sunset said as she turned to look toward the other two people in the room. "Bull. You and Applejack go see if the shop room has anything left like what we need."

"Alright." He replied before turning to walk out of the room, muttering something that neither Sunset nor Twilight could pick up.

"I hope ya'll know what you're doin'." Applejack said before turning to follow him, leaving the two humanized ponies alone with the unconscious infected. Once they disappeared, Sunset turned and looked at Twilight as she knelt down beside Flash before gently running her hand through his hair. Seeing this made her pull out her AK and aim it at him just in case he woke up.

"Sunset!" Twilight said after seeing what her friend was doing. "What are you doing? Put that away!"

"No can do, Twi." She replied while steadying her aim. "I'm keeping this out and ready just in case he wakes up before the others get back."

"I can't believe we're actually saving that infected." Bull said as he and Applejack walked through a hallway. "Has she lost her mind?"

"I know, Bull." Applejack replied. "I can't say that I agree with this either, but Twi has a thing for him. Honestly, this isn't surprising me one bit that she wants to save him."

"I guess...."

"I'm sure Adagio would probably be the same way if you ever become infected." She went on to say. "By the way. How you feeling?"

"Pretty good." He replied. "Don't worry. Flash didn't bite me or anything, so I'm not infected."

"Good." She said. "Now lets just hurry and find what Sunset had asked for."

"Agreed."

As the two walked through the dimly lit hallway, Bull reached into his pocket to see how many shells he had left for his shotgun. But thanks to Bulk, his pocket was practically empty aside from a few shells left.

"How much ammo you got left for your rifle?" He asked, prompting Applejack to check her pocket.

"Not much." She replied. "Only a couple rounds left. You?"

"Same." He replied. "I'm down to four shells, not including what's already loaded."

"Too bad you gave Twi your sword." She said. "Otherwise you'd have a backup."

"You got anything else?"

"Just these two pistols." She replied before pulling up her jacket to show the two grips sticking out of her pants. "But I only use them for when I run out of ammo for the rifle."

"You practice with them?" He asked as Applejack lowered her jacket again.

"Course I do." She replied. "Gotta keep myself ready for situations like these."

"That's good." He said as the two continued down the hallway. Soon, they came up to the door that led into the shop room. The two of them looked at each other for a bit before nodding simultaneously as Bull opened the door and walked in with AJ close behind. Once inside, both of them were immediately greeted by an unusual sound.

"You hear that?" Applejack asked as both of them stopped so they could hear the sound better.

"Sounds like...... crying." Bull replied.

"The... horror....." A fourth voice said, making both of them jump. They looked at each other again before Bull looked over toward the wall and saw a shadow slowly moving back and forth. He then motioned for Applejack to look at it as well.

"Over there." He whispered while pointing over toward the southeast corner of the room. She nodded before pulling out her gun and loading it with the limited amount of ammo she had left. Bull got his gun out and ready as well as both of them closed in on where the sound was coming from.

"The... horror....." The voice said again as Bull and AJ finally came across who was making that noise. Seated in a corner of the room were three girls, each one of them only having a bra and some panties to cover themselves with. Their respective hairs were all messy while their fingernails were extraordinarily long, the longest either one of them had ever seen.

"Are those the.... flower trio?" Bull whispered as he looked on at the three girls.

"Looks like 'em." Applejack replied.

"Should we....." Bull asked before motioning with his gun.

"Nah." She replied. "They ain't buggin' us, plus we don't have much ammo left."

Bull sighed a bit before nodding in agreement. Soon, they both started walking away but they also kept an eye on the three infected girls. Once on the other side of the room, the search began for duct tape and a cloth. Bull started looking in each of the small drawers while Applejack checked the toolboxes. But as they looked, the continuous sound of crying coming from across the room was beginning to get annoying.

"Find any yet?" Bull asked.

"Not yet." Applejack replied before turning to look in a different tool box. But as she turned, her ass bumped a wrench that was halfway off the workbench she was by, making it fall to the concrete floor, resulting in a loud clanging sound that echoed around the room. As soon as that happened, the crying stopped. "Uh.... oh....." She said before quickly turning her attention back toward the girls. Each one of them was now standing, looking right at the two of them before they all cried out and started sprinting at them.

"Fuck!" Bull cried out before opening up on them with his gun. Applejack did the same. But unfortunately like Bulk, the flower trio didn't go down after one hit. "Applejack! Run!" He called out as he started running as fast as he could. Applejack didn't need to be told twice as she immediately started running as well. But soon, both she and Bull ran out of ammo, leaving only Applejack and her two pistols for defense while Bull had nothing left to defend himself with.

"Applejack!" He called out. "I'm out of shells!"

"Then use your gun like a club and hit them with it!" She called back before pulling out her two pistols. Hearing this, Bull stopped, turned around, and held his gun like a baseball bat.

"You know." He said as one of them, Roseluck, came charging at him. "I usually don't even think about hitting women. But in this case, I'll make an exception!" He then swung the end of his shotgun as hard as he could at her. But Roseluck managed to duck underneath his swing and nail him in the chin with a strong uppercut, stronger than he had thought she was even capable of, that sent him flying across the room before smashing through a door that led into a storage closet.

"Bull!" Applejack cried out after she watched her friend go through the wooden door. She wanted to go help him, but the other two girls had decided to team up and take her out together. Applejack kept shooting at them with her two pistols while running, but the bullets didn't seem to affect them at all. Soon, her eyes caught sight of a staircase leading to an upstairs storage room and a small chain-link gate that separated the room from the stairs.

"Better than nothing." She thought before racing up the steps with the two infected not far behind. Once at the top, Applejack immediately closed the gate and latched it shut. But she soon realized that it wouldn't be able to hold the two back for long as both Lily and Daisy started pounding on the fence with Roseluck eventually joining them. "Well...." She thought while backing away as the gate started to give way. "At least I'll be going down fighting."

But just as the latch looked like it was about to break, a small noise coming from the lower floor made the three of them stop what they were doing and turn to look at where the sound was coming from. Applejack did the same before she saw Bull slowly step over the remains of the door he got sent through with a chainsaw in his grasp. Looking closer, she could see that he had safety goggles over his eyes and a devious smirk on his face as he revved the small engine.

"So ya'll wanna play rough, eh?" He said before spitting something, most likely a tooth, out of his mouth. "Well then. Say hello to my little friend!"

As all this was happening, the three members of Scavenger One were becoming impatient as they sat in the main lobby of the school, waiting for the Lifeboat to come and pick them up.

"I hope that those guys are doing alright." Rainbow said while leaning against one of the few intact panels of glass on the main doors. "They've been gone for a long time."

"This is a big school, Dash." Spitfire replied. "You know that as well as I do. I'm sure that they're just busy gathering supplies."

"I suppose so." She said. "I just wish that whoever's driving the Lifeboat would hurry up and get here already. I can't just sit around here forever."

"Well maybe if you didn't leave your gun in the car, you wouldn't need to be sitting here in the first place."

"Hey!" Rainbow said in defense. "You left yours in there too. And have you ever tried carrying armloads of food while also holding an assault rifle? It's pretty hard!"

"Would both of you knock it off?" Soarin asked, making both Spitfire and Rainbow Dash hush up before they looked at him. "Look. What's done is done. I don't like sitting around as much as you both do. But right now, it's our job to contact the others as soon as the bus gets here. So can we please just stop this arguing and get back to watching for our ride to come?"

Both Rainbow and Spitfire sighed before looking back at each other.

"Sorry." Rainbow said. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"Yeah." Spitfire replied. "Likewise."

"Good." Soarin said as Rainbow and Spitfire gave each other a quick hug before joining him back by the doors.

"Wished we at least could've eaten some of the food we got though." Rainbow said as her stomach started to growl. "I'm getting hungry."

"Same here." Spitfire replied.

"Me too." Soarin added.

"How long has it been since Sunset called Base?" Rainbow asked as the last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon.

"Not sure." Soarin replied. "I don't really have anything on me that can tell time at the moment."

"Me neither. But if I had to guess, I'd say it has to be at least 8:00." Spitfire added before something caught her attention. "Woah! You guys see that?" She asked while pointing toward the Wondercolt statue.

"See what?" Rainbow asked as both she and Soarin both looked at it. "I'm not seeing anything."

"Me neither."

"Huh." Spitfire said. "Guess I must be seeing things then." But soon enough, the same thing happened. This time though, all three of them watched as a little purple dog suddenly came out of the statue. "What the......"

"Is that...... Spike?" Rainbow asked before pushing open her door.

"You know that dog?" Soarin asked before Rainbow could step outside.

"Yeah." She replied. "He belongs to Twilight." With that said, she stepped out onto the concrete steps. "Spike? Is that you?"

The little dog looked at her for a moment as she walked down the steps toward him. Her eyes looked toward the left and right repeatedly, keeping an eye out for any infected. But as she got closer, the dog soon had a smile appear on his face.

"Oh! Hey Rainbow. I didn't recognize you for a second with that outfit you got on." He said before looking around. "Woah...... What happened here?"

"It's a long story, Spike." She replied before kneeling down and petting him on the head. "But what exactly are you doing here?"

"Well Twilight's friends back in Equestria got extremely worried when I told them that she came here, especially after I told them about the infected pony that came through the portal. So they made me write a letter to Princess Celestia about the situation and well....." Soon after he said that, a woman appeared through the portal on her hands and knees. Rainbow's eyes widened as she instantly recognized the multi-colored hair that she knew only one other person had. "Rainbow Dash." Spike said before motioning with his paw toward the woman as she slowly rose to her feet before falling backwards into a seated position. "Allow me to introduce you to the ruler of all of Equestria, Princess Celestia."

Rainbow's eyes widened as Princess Celestia slowly managed to get back to her feet. She easily towered over her, just as much as this world's Celestia did. But rather than the attire that Principal Celestia once wore, this Celestia only had a plain yellow t-shirt along with some blue jeans that covered her long legs.

"So you're the Princess that Sunset's gone on and on about?"

"Yes." She replied in a tone that exactly matched her former Principal. "I'm pleased to know that she hasn't forgotten about me after all these years. Twilight has mentioned that she had seen the error of her ways and has now fully embraced the magic of friendship. But as much as I would like to have a much desired reunion with her, unfortunately I'm here for a different reason. I'm here for Twilight."

"Well, both of them are in there." Rainbow replied before pointing at the school. "We should probably go inside though. It isn't really safe out here."

"Indeed." She replied. "Spike has told me about these infected people that are roaming around in this world now. That is why I have instructed Twilight's pupil to put up a magical barrier that would separate the area of the room that the mirror portal is on from the rest. I have also stationed a decent sized squadron comprising of my best Royal Guards there as well in case one comes through while I'm here and the barrier doesn't hold."

"Nice." Rainbow replied in an impressed tone. "Sounds like you got this well planned out."

Celestia simply nodded her head in response. "I had already written to Sunset via the journal, asking to speak with Twilight face to face about this situation." She continued. "Seeing as how you're here, she must have received my message."

"Actually..... we just got here a little while ago after running from a horde of infected." Rainbow sheepishly replied. "I highly doubt that either Sunset or Twilight knows that you're here. But like I said, it's kinda dangerous to be out here in the dark. So let's get inside." After saying that, she turned and started to walk back toward the building with Spike by her side. But a grunt from behind made her look back to see that Princess Celestia had fallen flat on her stomach. "You okay?" She asked before turning back and helping her up.

"Yes. I'm fine." She replied. "Though it will take me a while to get used to walking on two legs rather than four."

"Hey. If Twilight can do it, then you should have no problem." Rainbow said before moving back toward the school, this time helping Princess Celestia as she tried to get used to this new body of hers.

Chapter Seven

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Sunset's hands trembled slightly as she held her gun out. She was surprised that Flash hadn't woken up yet after being knocked out for this long. But as soon as he would wake up, there would only be seconds before he'd try to attack one of them, regardless of them once being his friends. It would be difficult, but she knew it would have to be done.

"Sunset?" Rainbow Dash's voice asked over the walkie. "You there?" Hearing this, Sunset kept a wary eye on Flash as she lowered her gun to unhook her walkie from her pants.

"What is it, Rainbow?" She replied. "Has Celestia come with the Lifeboat yet?"

"Negative." Rainbow replied. "Though I'm hoping that they'll be here shortly."

"Then what is it that you need?"

"What is your location?"

"The lunch room. Why?"

"Well. Someone is here and wants to speak with Twilight." She replied, making Sunset raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Who?"

"She doesn't want me to say. You'll find out in a bit."

"This had better be important." Sunset thought before bringing the walkie back to her lips. "Alright. But we have an unconscious infected here with us, so I want you to accompany this person here."

"Just kill it and be done with it."

"Believe me. If I could, I would have done it already. But Twilight won't let me."

"Uhh.... why?"

"Take a guess." Rainbow's voice remained silent for a few minutes before Sunset could hear the familiar crackle before she spoke again.

"It's Flash. Isn't it."

"Yep."

The sound of Rainbow smacking herself in the face could be heard over the walkie before she groaned. "Why am I not surprised?"

"You're telling me." Sunset replied.

"Fine. I'll accompany our guest. We'll be there in a bit."

"Understood." Sunset replied before she hooked the walkie back in her pants. Once that was done, she took hold of her gun again and aimed it right at Flash's head once more, much to Twilight's disapproval.

"Sunset." She said. "I wish you'd trust me and put that gun away."

"Twilight. Forgive me for saying this. But you know nothing about this world now. You haven't even been here for a day."

"So?"

"So what I'm saying is that even if there is some magical spell back in Equestria that can cure him, the disease has already destroyed his brain. Flash is gone, Twi. And like it or not, he isn't coming back. What you're doing right now is putting everyone here at risk over something that is pointless. Is that what a Princess is supposed to do?"

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out before she slowly closed it.

"Exactly." Sunset replied. "I would have thought that you knew that the needs of others outweigh your own by now. Heck. If Princess Celestia was here right now, what do you think her reaction would be to this situation?"

Twilight once again was silent, but this time her eyes were wide open. Almost like she was surprised.

"Princess Celestia?"

"Yeah." Sunset replied. "Why I bet you that she wouldn't be happy about you putting the lives of others at risk over someone that can't be saved."

"You are correct, my former student." A familiar voice said from behind her before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Both of Sunset's eyes were now wide open as she slowly turned her head to look at the hand. "It is good to finally see you again after all of these years, Sunset Shimmer."

"P-Princess Celestia?" She stuttered before looking up to meet the eyes of her former mentor. "Is that really you?" Princess Celestia nodded as a response.

"I am very happy to see you again, my former student." She said. "We have so many things to catch up on." She then turned her head to look at Twilight as she just sat in disbelief. "But Twilight. I must say that I am very disappointed in what I am seeing right now."

"B-but." Twilight stuttered, only for Celestia to narrow her gaze at her, making her become silent once again.

"Twilight. I know exactly what you're going through right now. Rainbow Dash has brought me up to speed on the situation. I know that you have feelings for this person." Twilight looked at Flash as he still laid on the floor before closing her eyes and slowly nodding her head. "But before I continue, I need to ask you something. And answer it honestly. How often do you see him?"

"..... Only when I come here."

"And how long do you stay here for before coming back to Equestria?"

".... A few days."

"So this entire relationship between the two of you is based on.... what."

"Well he uh.... helped me when Sunset tried framing me for something I didn't do." She replied, making Sunset's cheeks turn red from embarrassment.

"And?" Celestia said. "What else?"

"He umm... was really nice to me when I first came here."

"Twilight. The fact that you're struggling to find reasons to justify this situation tells me that this isn't worth putting the lives of your friends at risk." Celestia said. "I may not know how things work in this world, but love is the same no matter where you are. This right here is not love. And I know that Cadence would agree with me." Her attention then shifted to look at the unconscious infected on the floor. "This disease. Rainbow has said that it does severe if not critical damage to the brain. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?"

"I.... wanted to bring him back to Equestria. To cure him."

Celestia sighed after hearing that. "You are right in thinking that there are ways to cure him of this disease back in Equestria. But there is no spell that I know of that will reverse the damage done to his brain. You'd have a normal looking pony on the outside. But on the inside, he'd be nothing more than an empty shell of a pony. And what Sunset has said is true. As a Princess of Equestria, the needs of others outweigh your own now."

"So what are you saying?"

"She's saying what I've been telling you, Twilight." Sunset interjected. "What you're doing here is pointless. Flash is gone and he isn't coming back." She then walked over and put her arm around Twilight. "Flash sacrificed himself for this world's version of you, Twi. He gave his life for her. I don't think he would've wanted to go in any different way." This made Twilight's tears start to stream down her purple cheeks again as she looked at him.

"I'm..... I'm...... sorry." She said quietly. "I must look really stupid right now."

"You have no idea." Sunset thought before she brought Twilight in for a hug. Once they got done, Twilight looked at Princess Celestia who only closed her eyes and nodded. Looking back, Twilight watched as Sunset reached down and pulled out her desert eagle.

"Just make it quick. He deserves that at least." She said before slowly getting up. Sunset nodded as Twilight slowly walked toward the door. Celestia and Rainbow Dash soon followed her before all three of them left the room, leaving Sunset alone with Flash.

"Goodbye Flash." She thought before putting the end of her gun against the side of his head. "It was nice knowing you."

*BOOM*

Twilight heard the sound of Sunset's gun go off as it echoed in the hallway. The tears were now flowing out of her eyes as she was comforted by Rainbow and Celestia before Sunset walked out of the lunch room, her clothes covered in a bit of blood. Upon seeing this, Twilight immediately looked away from her before wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"He's in a better place now, Twi." Sunset said as the group began walking toward the main lobby again.

"Hey uh.... where's Bull and Applejack?" Rainbow asked before looking around. "Weren't they with you?"

"They were." She replied. "But I sent them down to the shop room for things that we would've needed in order to get Flash restrained in case he woke up. We should probably go get them."

"Leave it to me." Rainbow replied. "You guys go back to the lobby."

"Alright. But be careful." She said. "Also, take this." She then held out her desert eagle for Rainbow to take. "It's better than nothing."

"Woah....." Rainbow replied as she took it and an extra clip of ammo from Sunset's hands. "I seriously need to get one of these for myself."

"I'll be expecting that back though." Sunset said before winking at her friend. "So don't get too comfortable with it."

"Yeah yeah." Rainbow said before beginning to jog away. "I'll be back with the others in a bit!"

"Alright!" Sunset called back before Rainbow disappeared around a corner. Once she disappeared, Sunset turned her attention back to her former mentor. "So what exactly are you doing here, Princess? Not that it isn't great to see you after all this time."

"Well I wanted to speak with both you and Twilight about a possible solution to this problem." She replied as they walked. "Now if you don't want to go along with this idea, you are free to say no. But I think it would be much safer if you and all of the ponies you managed to save from this disease come and live in Equestria."

"People." Sunset corrected. "We call them people in this world."

"Interesting." She replied.

"I kinda suggested the same thing." Twilight added before she wiped a tear from her eye. "We actually were going to write to you about it."

"But wouldn't there be severe consequences about having so many pony duplicates in one dimension?" Sunset asked. "I mean. We've got so many survivors. And I'm sure that they all have pony counterparts on the other side of the portal."

"I don't think that will be an issue." Celestia replied. "But I'm sure that if it ever did, we could find something in the magical archives to solve the problem."

"What about the other ponies being confused, especially when there will be two of you, Princess Luna, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and many others?"

"We can quickly work out a temporary solution for that until something more permanent can be established." She replied. "But that is all that I wanted to speak with you about."

"Oh uh.... well okay then." Sunset replied. "At least that saves us the time of waiting for a response from you when we would've gotten back to the factory. I'll still put it to a vote for whoever wants to come and who wants to stay."

"I will be looking forward to hearing from you." Celestia replied as they all entered the lobby to find Spike talking with Spitfire and Soarin about their Wonderbolt counterparts.

"So what you're saying is that in your world, I'm a military leader?" Spitfire asked.

"Pretty much." Spike replied. "Commander Spitfire. I'm sure she'd be surprised to meet you if you chose to come to Equestria."

"And what about me?" Soarin asked.

"You? I think you're like a high ranked pony as well. Second in command most likely, I'm not sure."

"Woah." He replied before a throat clearing from Sunset made both of them jump. "Oh. Hey Sunset. You guys find anything?"

"Unfortunately no." She replied. "But I believe that our guest here would like to return to Equestria."

"It certainly has been a pleasure to meet you all." Celestia said as they walked toward the doors. "I look forward to seeing you all again very soon."

"What's she talking about?" Spitfire asked.

"I'll explain everything once we get back to the factory." Sunset replied. "But right now, let's escort both Princess Celestia and Spike back to the portal." Both Spitfire and Soarin nodded in agreement before they all stepped out onto the concrete steps. As they walked out to the statue, they made sure that Celestia and Spike were in the center of the group in case an infected wanted to try their luck and get her. Fortunately, the area seemed deserted of any threat.

"We'll be sure to write to you when the time comes, Princess." Twilight said as the group stopped in front of the portal. "Expect something written tomorrow at the latest as it will be a bit late by the time we get back."

"Very well, Twilight." She replied before splitting off from the group and stopping just inches from the portal. "Be safe."

"We will." Sunset replied, making Celestia nod before she and Spike disappeared into the portal just as the Lifeboat pulled up.

Rainbow jogged down the hall on her way toward the shop room. Luckily she hadn't seen any infected en route, but she kept her guard up just in case. No infected was going to get her without a fight. As she approached the door leading into the shop room, she could faintly hear the sound of a chainsaw's engine.

"Wonder what's going on in there." She thought before stopping in front of the door. Turning the knob, she opened the door just in time to see a blood covered Bull cutting right through Roseluck's center, splitting her entirely in half. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the blood splattered work benches and desks.

"Rainbow!" Applejack's voice called out from upstairs as she opened the small chain-link gate. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"What the heck happened in here?" She asked before noticing a severed leg in front of her.

"Just some infected who wanted to play rough." Bull replied after turning the chainsaw off. He then wiped the blood off of his safety goggles before taking them off and tossing them aside. "Nothing we couldn't handle. Right AJ?"

Applejack chuckled when she heard that. "We? You're the one who took care of them."

"You distracted them while I got the chainsaw."

"I suppose so." She replied before turning to look at Rainbow. "We couldn't really find any duct tape for Flash in here."

"Oh. That's alright. We don't need it anymore."

"He's dead?" Bull asked. Rainbow just nodded in response. "So we basically wasted the last of our ammo and I lost a tooth and went on a chainsaw rampage for nothing."

"Pretty much." Rainbow replied.

"Fuck." He said before kicking the severed leg in front of him across the room. After that, the three of them looked at the carnage that he had caused. A severed arm laid across one of the workbenches while what looked like an entire body that was cut in half laid on the floor.

"Geesh!" Rainbow exclaimed while looking around. "Remind me never to make you mad when you got that around." This made both Bull and Applejack laugh before a crackling sound could be heard from Rainbow's walkie.

"Rainbow Dash. You there?" Sunset's voice called out from the little device as Rainbow unhooked it from her back pocket.

"Yeah." She replied.

"You find Bull and Applejack?"

"Yeah." She repeated. "Both of them were still in the shop room when I found them."

"Good." Sunset replied. "The Lifeboat is waiting out front for you guys. Get out here as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am." Rainbow replied before putting her walkie back. "Guess our ride's here." She said, making both Applejack and Bull sigh with relief.

"Then let's get out of here." She replied before walking over and picking up Bull's shotgun. "Here ya go, pardner." She said while handing it to him.

"Thanks AJ." He replied before taking it and putting it in the sleeve on his back. Soon, all three of them started making their way out toward the main lobby. "So did we miss anything else beside Flash getting killed?"

"Oh yeah." Rainbow replied. "Twilight's version of Principal Celestia came through the portal and was basically the reason that Twilight let Sunset kill Flash."

"Seriously?" Applejack asked. "Man. I wish I could've seen that."

"But then you would've missed seeing me going crazy with a chainsaw." Bull replied in a playful tone.

"Oh believe me. I'll be rememberin' that for quite a while." She replied before giving him a playful hit on the arm. "But thanks for takin' care of them for me. If you hadn't done that, then I would've been a goner."

"Anytime, AJ." Bull replied before Applejack tried to give him a hug, only for him to stop her before she could wrap her arms around him. "I'd hug you, AJ. But in case you forgot, I'm covered in blood that ain't mine right now."

"Good point." She replied.

"Maybe once we get back to the factory and I get myself cleaned up." He continued. "But only after I finally give Dagi something that I've been wanting to give her for quite some time now."

"And what would that be?" Rainbow asked.

"That's between me and her."

"Aww come on." She said. "You can tell us."

"Not til it happens."

"Oh alright." Rainbow said before sighing. A few minutes passed until the three of them reached the concrete steps and saw the modified bus and their friends waiting for them. Seeing this made them all smile as they started walking toward it. But it wasn't until they got closer when Bull noticed something strange. Pinkie Pie's left leg was twitching wildly and she was looking all around up toward the sky.

"Uh.... you okay, Pinkie?" He asked as the three of them joined the rest of the group.

"My leg's twitching!" She exclaimed. "And you know what that means!"

"I uh...."

"It means something is gonna fall really soon!"

"Pinkie." Sunset replied before looking around. "Are you sure? I'm not seeing anything that's gonna fall." But once she said that, a loud series of snapping sounds could be heard coming from above them. The group all turned their heads up just in time to see the large school bell in the rooftop clock tower just as the last of the steel wires holding it up snapped. The bell immediately plummeted before hitting the cement floor, sending an echoing gong across the area before the weight of it made the floor crumble beneath it, collapsing the glass rooftop dome.

"Well..... this isn't going to end well." Rarity said before a large howling noise could be heard.

"Everyone! On the bus! Now!" Celestia called out. She didn't have to repeat herself as everyone quickly rushed back on board. Celestia quickly got back into the driver's seat and turned the key to start the engine, only for it to not start at first. "Come on! Come on! You were just fine a minute ago!" She cried out while trying again and again to start it.

"Uh...... guys?" Fluttershy quietly said before pointing toward the driver's side of the bus. All heads turned to look just as a massive horde, the largest any of them had ever seen, was seen racing toward them. Seconds later, the ground began shaking before Bull turned his head to look toward the back of the bus, just in time to see Bulk Biceps racing around the street corner with several infected behind him.

"Well......" He thought as the horde drew closer. "Things just got a lot more interesting."

Author's Notes:

What's up everypony?

The feedback I've gotten from the last chapter has made me think about my original plan for Flash Sentry. Originally, my plan for him was for him to be cured and his brain be restored to normal. But seeing the responses that you guys gave made me think long and hard about what path to take regarding him.

Also, this was what I would think the situation would've been like if Twilight tried to explain her relationship with him to Princess Celestia. Let me be clear in saying that in no way, shape, or form was this an attempt at bashing FlashLight shippers.

My apologies to those who wanted to see Flash get saved. This kept me awake for most of last night as I thought about what to do with him. But I think that this was the path that made the most sense.

- Harms Way

Chapter Eight

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It didn't take long before the modified bus became an island in a sea of infected people. This resulted in two things, one good and one bad. The good thing was that Bulk Biceps was now too far away from the bus to do any damage due to the amount of infected people between him and it. The bad part was now each of them were pounding their fists against the metal and more have even started to rock the bus from side to side, making everyone inside struggle for balance.

"It's okay, ya'll." Applejack said while trying her best to stay standing. "This bus is too heavy for them to flip onto its side."

"I don't understand." Principal Celestia said as she sat on the edge of the driver's seat away from the window. "The engine was somewhat fine when we came here. I don't know what's causing it not to start."

"I wouldn't know either." She replied. "I'd have to go outside to look."

"Are you crazy? It'll be suicide if you go out there now." Adagio said as she pointed toward the front of the bus. The people on the outside were trying to pry the small doors open, with Rainbow and Spitfire being the only ones stopping them by holding the lever for the doors in place.

"Adagio's right, Applejack." Sunset said while she was crouched down beside one of the metal cabinets before opening one of the doors. Inside were several clips of ammo, boxes of ammo, and a few melee weapons like knives, machetes, and several other items for defense. "There's no way anyone is going out there without getting infected."

"So what are we going to do?" Twilight asked as she sat in a seat, keeping herself away from the window.

"Simple." Sunset replied before loading a new clip into her AK. "We fight."

"Do you see the amount of infected out there?"

"Got any other option for us then, Twilight?" Sunset asked. The humanized alicorn slowly turned her head to look outside just as an infected pounded on her window, frightening her as a result. She then looked back and quickly shook her head to Sunset. The former unicorn proceeded to nod before looking at the rest of her friends. "Now I don't know about the rest of you." She said as she stood back up. "But I did not come this far just to get infected now."

"I'm with you, Sunset." Bull said as he started walking forward toward the cabinet, losing his balance slightly as the infected continued rocking the bus. "No way these bastards are getting any of us if I have something to say about it." As he started getting the ammo needed for his shotgun, Sunset looked out of one of the windows into the horde of infected around the bus. Many of them were people she never met. But suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a familiar face in that crowd.

"Is that..... Principal Cinch?" She thought to herself before she saw the former Principal of Crystal Prep tilt her head up and back slightly. Her eyes widened as she spat a stream of green liquid straight toward the top of the bus. "Get down!" She called out as the liquid landed on the roof, making everyone quickly get down onto the floor. Each of the bus' occupants then looked on in horror as the liquid quickly dissolved the solid steel roof, creating a large hole. Sensing the need to stop her before she did that again, Sunset quickly got to her feet and opened one of the windows on the side where Cinch was on.

"This is for what you made Twilight do!" Sunset called out before opening fire on the former Principal. The sound of the AK echoed across the area over the groans of the hundreds of infected. Cinch caught a bullet right between the eyes before she fell backward onto the ground, making a few other infected cry out in pain before Sunset saw them create a bit of space between them and Cinch.

But just as the sound of her gun firing stopped, a loud thud could be heard on the roof. All eyes looked up before a small, yet very familiar looking infected dropped down through the hole in the roof. "Snips?!" Sunset cried out in thought as the little infected quickly jumped onto Soarin's back and started to make him move uncontrollably.

"Get this thing off of me!" Soarin called out while struggling to get the little creature off of him as Snips made him start moving toward the back of the bus. Sunset looked on as she aimed her gun at him, but she couldn't get a clean shot at her former lackey without shooting Soarin.

"I can't get a clear shot!" She called out.

"Me neither!" Bull yelled as he had his gun pointed at Soarin. "I can't kill it without shooting you!" As soon as he said that, Snips made Soarin run straight into the back door, more specifically the lever which opened the door. Soarin's weight plus the momentum of his forced movements were enough to push the lever in, making the door open.

"No!" Soarin cried out before Snips made him fall out of the bus, and into the crowd of infected who wasted no time in converging on the lone survivor. The sound of his agonizing cries of pain were loud, making everyone that was still in the bus shake in horror. Soon enough though, his screams died down, creating an uneasy feeling as the infected turned their attention to the now open door and started to try climbing inside.

"Don't let a single one of them in!" Bull called out before opening fire with his shotgun, making one of the intruding infected fly backward. Sunset soon joined in, firing non stop to keep them from getting inside. Soon, some of the other occupants started to follow in their footsteps and proceeded to grab their weapons. Rainbow and Spitfire, horrified by Soarin's demise, continued holding the lever controlling the side doors in place. But they couldn't keep it up forever as the space between the doors slowly started to widen.

"Get a gun." Spitfire said to her friend. "Then hold the doors shut long enough for me to get one. We're gonna make these bastards pay for what they did to Soarin." Rainbow nodded before letting go, making Spitfire use more of her strength to keep the doors from opening as she went to the cabinet and quickly spotted Sunset's spare desert eagle.

"Mind if I use this, Sunset?" Rainbow called out to her friend. Sunset looked back for a bit to see what Rainbow was talking about as her friend held her spare gun.

"Go ahead, Rainbow." She replied, making a devious grin form on Rainbow's face as she quickly snatched up as much ammo as she could for it before returning to Spitfire's side. Once her hands were back on the lever, Spitfire let go and quickly grabbed a weapon of her own from the cabinet before returning. Rainbow saw that she had chosen a shotgun, similar in style to Bull's.

"Alright." She said over the sound of the others firing their guns while loading her own. "On the count of three, let go of the lever." Rainbow nodded for a response. "One. Two. Three!" Upon hearing that, Rainbow let go of the lever. The doors flung open just as the two of them had their barrels pointed at the infected. "Eat lead, motherfuckers!" She called out before opening fire, causing the infected in front of the door to fly back.

Rainbow started firing off her gun as well. Since her gun was smaller, she could aim it more accurately than she could with her old gun. Thus, she was able to put a bullet in the head of each infected she aimed at. One by one, the duo made quick work of each infected that tried climbing onto the steps.

As the two of them were keeping the infected toward the front at bay for the moment, Bull, Applejack, and Sunset continued defending the back. One by one, each enemy that tried climbing on board was quickly dispatched by one of them. But as they continued, Bull noticed that Bulk was getting closer to the bus.

"We need to take out the big guy!" He called out. "Or else he might rip this bus apart!"

"Got anything in mind?" Sunset asked. But before Bull could answer, an arrow flew through the space between them and out the door before striking Bulk square in his left eye. Bulk immediately hollered in pain as he covered his face before withdrawing from the area, disappearing around a corner of the school. Both Bull and Sunset's facial expressions were that of shock and amazement before they turned around to find Adagio reloading an arrow into her crossbow. She gave both of them a confident smirk after her eyes looked up at them.

"Such a shame." She said before pointing the end of her weapon toward the open door. "I was hoping for a bit more excitement than that." After saying that, she fired again. This time, the arrow struck an infected woman smack dab in the center of her forehead. She instantly went limp and dropped down onto the floor of the bus before gravity pulled her lifeless body down to the ground. Sunset was amazed by how accurate Adagio's aim was. It was practically on par with Bull's.

"How is she that good?" She asked before firing her AK out of a window, spraying bullets into the crowd around her side of the bus.

"All those hours at the target range really paid off." Bull replied. "She's the best person I've seen use a crossbow." He then fired his gun at an infected man who tried climbing in. His presence wouldn't last long as he was sent flying backward. "Then again. She's the only person I've seen use a crossbow. But I bet she'd still be better than anyone else to tried."

"Aww." Adagio said as she turned to look at Bull, her cheeks slightly turning red in response to the compliment. "Thanks."

"No prob." He replied. "If we get out of this alive, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"I can't wait to know what that'll be." She replied before a thud coming from the roof made each occupant look up toward the hole to see Snips had returned to try his luck once again. But as soon as he dropped down to the floor, he was met with four guns pointed directly at him by Sunset, Bull, Applejack, and Adagio. Seeing this, Snips tried backing away while giving an innocent smile until Adagio's crossbow fired an arrow, striking him directly between the eyes. The little infected staggered until the rest of the people focusing their attention on him opened fire and sent him flying out of the back.

"Sayonara pipsqueak!" Bull called out over the sounds of gunfire. But as soon as he said that, another thud came from the roof. Again, each occupant looked up before seeing another infected drop down through the hole. Only this one was one that some had seen before.

"Flash?" Sunset asked as Flash Sentry was just a few rows in front of her with a wound on the right side of his head. "How is this possible? I put a bullet right into your skull!" Flash just growled in response as he looked at her before turning his attention toward Bull.

"Oh. You up for a rematch, eh?" Bull asked before pointing his gun directly at him. "I don't know how you're still here. But this time, I'm gonna make sure that you stay down." After saying that, his finger squeezed the trigger. However, the expected result didn't happen as it would seem his gun didn't have any shells loaded. "Well..... fuck." He said before Flash jumped straight at him, taking him down onto the metal floor. Each of the survivors looked on in horror as Flash started punching Bull directly in his face. As this was happening, Adagio raised her crossbow and pointed it at them.

"Hold still for just a bit!" She called out as she aimed her crossbow at them. But each time she thought she had a shot, they'd move. This made her growl slightly in frustration as this happened over and over again. "What do we do?"

"I could.... use some help..... right about now!" Bull cried out as Flash kept hitting him repeatedly. From a few rows down from where this was happening, Twilight looked on in shock and horror. Her hands started shaking as each punch from Flash landed directly against Bull's skull. She then looked to find Applejack, Sunset, and Adagio pointing their guns at both of them, but none of them could get a clean shot without shooting and possibly killing Bull.

"What are we going to do?" She thought as she saw blood starting to drip out of Bull's nose. If something wasn't done soon, she was going to witness the death of the person who saved her life. She continued to think until she saw something in the corner of her eye. Looking down, she could see moonlight being reflected off of the few remaining polished spots on the blood stained steel of the sword given to her by him. It was at that moment that she knew what had to be done. "I'm sorry, Flash." She thought as her hand grabbed onto the hilt of the blade. "But it looks like there's only one way to stop you."

Twilight then stood up and slowly walked out into the aisle, directly in front of the three guns.

"Twilight!" Sunset called out. "What are you doing?! Get out of the way!" Upon hearing this, Twilight turned her head back to look at her.

"Trust me, Sunset." She replied before turning to look at Flash and Bull once again. She then looked at a few infected who were still trying to get in through the back exit. "Can I have one of those uh... pipe bombs?" Sunset and Applejack looked at each other for a bit before the fiery haired one reached into her jacket and pulled one out before tossing it to her.

"You remember how to use that, right?"

Twilight just nodded before her thumb pressed the red button on the side, making the little red light begin to flash. Seeing this, the humanized alicorn threw it toward the open door as hard as she could, sending it flying out of the bus. The infected trying to get in reacted as they did before and instantly started chasing the explosive device before it detonated several yards away, taking dozens of infected out.

Soon enough, the remaining infected around the bus decided that the risk was not worth the reward and started to break off their attack, scattering in different directions until the only sounds that could be heard was the sounds of Bull and Flash as they continued fighting on the floor of the bus. Seeing that the two were still at it, Twilight stepped forward while mustering all of her courage with the edge of her blade pointing out in front of her. Flash had seemed to get the upper hand on Bull as he had his arms pinned to the floor with his knees just as she stopped just a few inches behind them. He didn't seem aware of what was going on as his focus remained toward the man who knocked him out. But as he raised his fist to punch Bull again, it was then that Twilight announced her presence to him by slicing his hand off.

Flash cried out in agonizing pain as he brought his arm in to find blood pouring out of where his hand was. He then turned his head back just as Twilight had the blade ready to strike once again.

"Please. Forgive me for this." Twilight said before she swung the blade with all of her strength, striking Flash directly in the neck. The metal sliced cleanly through his flesh before it came out the other side, causing his head to fall down onto Bull's chest as his body fell to the side. Finally, the area was silent, the only sound now being Twilight as she breathed heavily with a few tears streamed down her cheeks before she wiped them with her free hand.

Shocked yet amazed by what her friend did, Sunset slowly walked over and placed her hand on Twilight's shoulder.

"It's okay, Twi." She said in a comforting tone. "You did the right thing."

Twilight sniffled before she turned to look at her friend. She then instantly clung to Sunset in a tight hug as the amount of emotions she was experiencing made her break down and cry uncontrollably.

"That's it, sugarcube. Just let it out." Applejack said as she and the others came to her side, each one putting their hands on her back in their way to help comfort her as Bull slowly got up and tossed Flash's head and body out of the bus before closing the door. Once that was complete, he turned around into a hug from Adagio.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She said as she looked into his eyes with a few tears coming out of her own. "I don't know what I would've done if you had died."

Bull just held her close as she clung onto him. After a few minutes, both Adagio and Twilight calmed down before each turned to look at the other.

"Thank you." Adagio said before offering her hand out to her. "Thank you so much for saving him."

Twilight just sniffled again before a small smile appeared on her face. Soon after, she took hold of Adagio's hand and pulled her in for a hug.

"You're welcome, Adagio." She softly replied before she let the former siren go.

"So what's the plan now, Sunset?" Bull asked as he walked up and put his arm on Adagio's shoulders.

"Well...." She replied before turning to look at Celestia. "We need to take advantage of this moment and get this bus moving again." She then turned to look at Applejack. "How fast do you think you can get it working?"

"Depends on the problem." Applejack replied. "But I should be able to quickly figure it out."

"Alright." She replied. "Then while you're working on the engine, Bull, Adagio, Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, and I will form a perimeter around the front of the bus. That'll give you some protection and cover in case the infected start attacking us again."

"Sounds good to me." She said before each of them turned toward the front of the bus. As they approached the steps, Celestia opened the doors, pushing aside a few dead infected in the process. Seeing all of those bodies made Spitfire and Rainbow smile as they stepped over them to get outside. Once everyone was out, Applejack made her way to the front of the bus and pulled on the hood, moving it up before the rest of the people formed a little semi-circle around her. "Alright." She said while walking around to the driver's side. "Let's see what the problem is."

Minutes passed by as she looked over the engine. Every minute or so, she'd ask Celestia to try starting it, only for the same result to happen. This was making Applejack frustrated as she constantly found herself looking over every square inch of the engine that she could get to. As this was going on, her protectors were keeping their guards up in case any infected tried to attack again.

"See anything out there?" Sunset asked while looking around.

"Nope." Bull replied.

"I got nothing over here." Adagio added as she stood by Applejack on the driver's side.

"We don't have any activity over here." Spitfire said as she and Dash stood on the other side facing toward the school in case any infected tried to run out.

"Any luck with that engine, AJ?"

Applejack sighed in response. "I think I might have an idea." She replied. "But without my tools, it'll be tough to fix."

"What's wrong?"

"The bolts on the battery cables are loose." She replied. "Anyone got any pieces of cloth I can borrow so I can tighten them without getting shocked?"

"Sure." Bull replied before taking off his jacket and putting it on the ground before removing his shirt, earning a whistle from Adagio who stared at him with a seductive smirk.

"Easy there, Dagi." Sunset said as Bull gave his shirt to Applejack.

"Like what you see?" Bull playfully asked as Applejack began tightening the bolts securing the battery cables.

"Why yes I do." She replied in a playful tone.

"Alright." Applejack grunted as she tightened the bolts as much as she could before looking up toward Celestia. "Try it now!" Celestia nodded before she turned the key. But this time, the engine started on the first try. Everyone immediately started celebrating in response, from jumping around for joy like Sunset and Rainbow to Bull and Adagio giving each other a comforting hug.

"Here ya go, pardner." Applejack said before handing Bull his shirt back. "Thanks for lettin' me borrow it."

"No prob, AJ." He replied before putting it back on. He then turned to look at Adagio who smiled back at him. "At least we're finally getting out of here."

"I know." She replied before following him and the others around the front to the side that the door was on. "I just can't wait to get back."

"And when we do get back..." Bull said before turning to get on. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time."

"Oh yeah?" Adagio asked as she turned to get on. "What's tha-"

"Adagio!" Sunset called out, making Bull turn back around to find her tied up and quickly being dragged toward the school by two infected who seemed to have her tied up with their respective tongues.

"Adagio!" Bull shouted just as the two had her in their grasps before running around the same corner of the school that Bulk disappeared behind. "Adagio!" He shouted again before chasing after them as fast as he could with his gun in hand.

"Bull!" Adagio's voice cried out as he rounded the corner just in time to see Adagio be dragged inside the building through an open fire exit door before a blue colored arm reached out and slammed it shut. As soon as Bull got to the door, he could hear Adagio's agonizing screams of pain on the other side.

"Adagio!" He shouted as he tried opening the metal door. But it wouldn't budge. He kept pulling on it, her screams motivating him to try harder and harder. But as hard as he pulled, the door would not open. "Adagio!" He called out. "No!" Eventually her screams faded, signalling to him that she was gone. "No." He quietly said while falling to his knees with tears forming in his eyes. "No. It can't be. I.... I....."

As this was going on, Sunset and the others appeared around the corner to find him like this. Each one of them gasped as they immediately knew what had happened.

"I swore I'd protect you....." They could hear Bull say. "I promised you that you'd survive...."

"Bull?" Sunset said as she and the others slowly approached him.

"I failed you!" He cried out before breaking down completely.

Chapter Nine

View Online

Sunset and Twilight waited out in the hallway in front of the door that led into what Sunset had called the 'Grieving Room'. She explained to Twilight that anyone who had lost a friend or loved one was free to be in there to mourn their loss in private or with friends. Though the event of losing a person had been rare in recent months, losing two people in one day was something that had never happened before.

After waiting outside for what seemed like hours, the two girls heard the door open and saw Applejack and Rarity step out into the hall with them.

"So how's he doing?" Sunset asked as she looked at her two friends.

"The only other time I've seen him like this was when Steel died." Rarity replied. "He'll definitely need some time to recover. I would not recommend sending him out on any scavenging runs anytime soon."

"Did you make sure to get his gun?"

"Yeah." Applejack replied as she held Bull's shotgun in her hands. "Wouldn't want him to do anything drastic with the current state of mind that he's in."

"Was that all he had on him?" Applejack simply nodded her head in response, making Sunset sigh with relief. "Good. Make sure that you keep it safe for when he feels like himself again. Whenever that'll be."

"Sure thing, sugarcube." She replied. "I'll make sure that this will be loaded and ready for him."

"I'm sure he must be feeling very miserable right now." Twilight said as she looked toward the closed door. "Were he and Adagio really that close?"

"I'd say that they were as close as possible without being official, darling." Rarity replied. "Before we set out to rescue you guys from the school, Adagio explained to me that she wouldn't have minded having Bull as her boyfriend. And after seeing her reaction after you saved him, I'd think that she genuinely cared for him as much as he did for her." This made Twilight look down toward the floor. After what she experienced with Flash, she knew exactly what Bull was going through.

"If he's going through what I did with Flash when I heard he didn't make it, the last thing he needs right now is to be alone."

"I agree with you on that." Sunset replied. "But I also understand that he needs his space. That's why I think we should sleep out here for tonight. That way Bull can have some time to himself to try and gather his thoughts. But if he needs us, we'll be right here for him." After saying that, Sunset looked around and saw each one of her friends nodding their head. "I'll go and grab some sleeping bags for us."

"I'll go with you, Sunset." Rarity said before she and Sunset started to walk away. Twilight and Applejack looked on until the two disappeared around a corner before both of them sat down on the floor. Once seated, Applejack laid Bull's shotgun on her lap and leaned back against the wall.

"This has certainly been an eventful day." She said. "You showing up here, us having to save Rainbow and the others, losing two of our modes of getting around the city, fighting off an entire horde, and losing two people to the infected."

"Yeah." Twilight replied. "Believe it or not, I actually started today by dusting some shelves in my library before I discovered the journal. I never imagined I'd do anything like this today." After saying that, the two girls sat quietly. Each one of them kept their eyes toward the room that Bull was in, keeping their ears open to any sign that he'd need them. But all that came from that room was silence. "I hope he's doing alright in there." She said. "I've never known anyone to be this silent during a time of grief. Even Fluttershy had her moments where she would cry. But he hasn't cried since we came back."

"He's just one of those who tend to keep their emotions locked inside until it gets to the point where he can't contain it any longer." Applejack replied. "In fact, the only times other than now in which I saw him get emotional was whenever he talked about his friend's death." Upon hearing that, Twilight remembered the way Bull had acted when he talked about Steel. She then unhooked the strap keeping the sword given to her by him on her back before removing it from its sheath. Even though there were many blood stains on the polished metal, she could still see her own reflection on some parts.

"I feel so bad for him right now." She said as she looked at the sword before looking up at the door. "Losing his best friend and then a romantic interest has got to be devastating."

"Eeyup." Applejack replied. "I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone that you wanted to be with. But I bet it must be really tough. Add that along with the pain of losing a friend and I'm amazed that he's still keeping quiet. I mean. I was really sad after having to kill Granny. But if I ever lost someone I had feelings for after that, I'd probably be an emotional wreck both inside and outside."

"Are you sure we shouldn't try and comfort him?" Twilight asked.

"We gave him his space when he was recovering from Steel's death." Applejack replied. "I know it's hard to do. But in his current state of mind, he might say or do something that would hurt someone."

"Well what about Rainbow and Spitfire?"

"Neither one of them, as far as I know, weren't as close to Soarin as Bull was to Adagio." She replied. "I'm sure they must be feeling down right now, but not as much as he is." After saying that, the sounds of footsteps approaching made the two girls turn to find Rainbow and Spitfire walking toward them.

"Hey guys." Rainbow said before she and Spitfire stopped beside Twilight and Applejack. "How's Bull doing?"

"About as well as he was when we came back here." Applejack replied. "He hasn't made a sound or anything since then."

"That's not good." Spitfire said. "Bottling up something like that inside is never a good thing to do."

"Yeah." Rainbow added. "I mean. We're still down about Soarin. But after some time doing uhh... things, we feel better than we did when we got here."

"What did you guys do?" Twilight asked as Rainbow and Spitfire sat down next to them.

"We mourned for a little while." Spitfire replied. "It's only natural to do so after something like this happens."

"So you're saying Bull needs to open up and just let his feelings out?" Spitfire nodded in response just as Sunset and Rarity had returned with many sleeping bags in their grip. But as Twilight looked up, she saw that Sunset also had the journal with her.

"Uh.... Twilight?" Sunset said as she put the sleeping bags down. "I just got a message from Princess Celestia. I think you might want to take a look at it." Twilight raised an eyebrow at her before the fiery haired girl sat down beside her and opened up the journal to the page where the message was on.

Dear Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle,
There is something that you need to know before you discuss coming to Equestria with your peers. This is something that my sister and I think must be done to permanently prevent this cursed disease from spreading into our world. Once everypony that wishes to come to Equestria crosses through the portal, we've decided that the mirror will be destroyed. This will be a one way journey.
Please make sure to tell your fellow survivors this information as it is very crucial that they know this before you allow them to make a decision.
- Princess Celestia

Twilight's pupils shrank once she finished reading the message. She then looked up at her friend who just closed her eyes and nodded.

"We'll discuss this with the rest of the people here tomorrow." Sunset said as she closed the book before a small yawn escaped from her mouth. "At least we made it back here. I don't think I would've been able to sleep at all if we had to camp out at CHS."

"Yeah. I can agree with you on that." Twilight replied before looking around. "Aren't Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy going to join us?"

"Fluttershy's taking care of the stray animals and Pinkie volunteered for dish duty tonight." Sunset replied. "I told them where we'd be when they were finished if they'd like to join us." Twilight just nodded her head before Rarity gave her a sleeping bag. "I may need your help tomorrow with explaining the situation to the others." She continued as Twilight scooted herself inside her comfortable bag.

"So are we gonna talk about what we went up against today?" Rainbow asked while laying down on top of her sleeping bag. "I mean. We've been at this for months now and I've never seen anything like what we faced today."

"I know." Sunset replied. "I'm amazed yet at the same time terrified because of this. I've never seen anything like this before. Bulk Biceps becoming this unstoppable juggernaut."

"Like some kind of tank." Rainbow replied.

"Yeah. And Principal Cinch being able to spit some sort of acidic substance. Snips was riding on Soarin's back like he was some kind of.... uh.... Oh what's the word I'm looking for?"

"A jockey?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah. That's it."

"And Flash was some form of infected that was entirely different." Twilight added before looking at her friend. "Sunset. You said you killed Flash back in the school by shooting him in the head. But if that was the case, how was it possible for him to attack Bull on the bus?"

"I don't know." She replied. "I shot him directly in the side of the head. I've never seen any infected get up after that." She then rubbed her chin as she thought about possible reasons. "Maybe these unique infected have some sort of regeneration ability."

"It's a good possibility." Twilight said.

"And then you add in those two infected who got Adagio. I've never seen any infected with such long tongues before. And.... even though I only saw them for a couple of seconds, I'd recognize those hairstyles anywhere. Those two were Aria and Sonata."

"Adagio's sisters?"

"Yeah." She replied. "But what bothers me is that they could've easily gotten both Adagio and Bull. But instead, they teamed up and got just her. I'm not sure why they'd choose to just get one and not two."

"I wouldn't know." Twilight said. "Maybe it's because they recognized her or something."

"Could be." Sunset replied. "And if that's what those two became, who knows what Adagio has become." After saying that, Sunset sighed before looking down toward the floor. "I just don't think we can keep up what we're doing here much longer if these special types of infected are out there. I don't want to lose any more people."

"All the more reason for us to pack up and head off to Equestria if you ask me." Applejack said before taking off her stetson. "Especially after what Bull and I went through in the shop room. The flower trio became these unstoppable things that wouldn't go down after being shot. It had to take Bull going on a chainsaw rampage to finally stop them. If the infected are getting stronger, we need to get out while we still can."

"Yeah." Rainbow added. "I'm all for fighting them and all. But if they're gonna be getting tougher to beat, we either need to step up our game and get some bigger guns or leave." She then looked at the shotgun by Applejack's sleeping bag. "But considering there aren't any places around here to get bigger guns than what we got right now, I think we should go." Once she finished speaking, she turned to look at Spitfire who was laying down beside her. "What do you think, Spitfire?"

"If it means getting away from all of this, then I'm all for getting the heck out of here." She replied. "Even though it'll take a long time to get used to, I'll take becoming a pony over becoming an infected any day."

"Rarity?" Sunset asked upon hearing what Spitfire had to say. "What do you think?" All eyes turned toward the fashionista who in turn looked around.

"Honestly, I don't think there is any other option for us." She replied. "Either we go and live the rest of our lives as ponies or stay and fight to survive as long as possible. I'll go with the former, darling."

"So is it safe to say that we at least are all in agreement about living in Equestria? Even though we won't be able to return to this world?" Sunset asked. Each one of her friends nodded in response. "Alright. Now to just explain the situation to the others. I'd go ask Bull about his opinion, but I think it can wait until morning. Maybe he'll be in a better state of mind then."

"I hope so." Applejack replied. "Who knows what's gonna be waiting for us back at the school. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

After hearing her friend say that, Twilight looked back toward the still closed door. Throughout the conversation, she still kept listening for Bull if he made a sound or anything. But nothing was heard.

"Well...." Sunset said, gaining Twilight's attention. "I think it's time to call it a night. I'm guessing Fluttershy and Pinkie must've decided to sleep in their cots." After saying that, Sunset laid down and scooted herself inside her sleeping bag. "Good night, girls." And soon after each of them said their own replies, the hallway was silent except for the soft sounds of snoring.

-Three hours later-

Twilight tossed and turned in her sleeping bag. No matter what she tried to do, she couldn't sleep while knowing that her friend in the room was in emotional turmoil. Soon, she turned to look at the still closed door. Even though it had been several hours, she still didn't hear a single noise come from the room.

"Maybe I should go and check on him." She thought before scooting out of her sleeping bag. "Just to make sure he's alright, even if he's just sleeping." Once she got back to her feet, she quietly stepped over the others. But as she put her foot between Spitfire and Rainbow, the rainbow haired girl rolled over and laid on top of it, causing Twilight to almost lose her balance and fall. Thankfully she was able to catch herself against the wall before she fell on top of her friend.

After getting over to the door, Twilight put her ear up against it. She still couldn't hear any noise at all. She then put her hand on the door knob and slowly twisted it until the latch opened. Once that happened, she gently pushed the door open, making sure to be as quiet as possible in case Bull was sleeping. If he was though, she couldn't tell due to it being completely dark in the room.

"Bull?" She quietly asked. "Are you still awake?"

"Huh?" Bull's voice replied in a low tone. "Oh. Hey Twilight."

"Hey." She said as she stepped inside before closing the door behind her. "Is there a light or something in here? I can't see a thing."

"Yeah." He replied. "Give me a second." Soon after saying that, Bull turned on a small light. Now with the ability to see, Twilight saw that Bull was sitting on a gray couch that had a small end table in a corner with a lamp that was giving the room the only source of light. Looking closer though, Twilight noticed that he had something clenched in his fist.

"Mind if I sit down?" She asked.

"Yeah. Go right ahead." He replied before moving to allow Twilight to sit down beside him. Once she sat down, Twilight was amazed by how comfortable the couch was compared to the sleeping bag she was trying to sleep in. "How come you're still awake?" Bull asked, making the humanized alicorn look at him. "I figured you'd be asleep like the others are."

"I couldn't sleep." She replied. "Not while knowing that you were going through something like this."

"No need to worry." He said. "I'm fine."

"No you're not, Bull." Twilight replied. "I know for a fact you're not fine. No one can be fine after going through what you did." She followed up her sentence by putting her hand on Bull's shoulder. "It's okay to be sad, Bull. No one would blame you or make fun of you for crying."

"Well they should." He said before sighing heavily. "I deserve it. I deserve to be made fun of for crying. I couldn't keep my promise to Adagio. I promised to protect her. I told her that any infected wanting her would have to go through me first. I... I failed her."

"Bull. It wasn't your fault." Twilight said. "No one could've seen this coming."

"It is my fault." He replied. "If I had let her get on the bus before I did, she'd be back here with us. But no. The one time I had my back turned was when they got her." As he said that, a tear began to form in his eye. "I was going to ask her out on a date when we got back here." He said. "I wanted her to know how I really felt about her." Twilight looked on as Bull opened up his clenched fist to reveal a necklace, one that looked exactly like what Adagio and her sisters wore when they tried taking over the school.

"Where did you get that?" She asked while pointing at the necklace.

"I found it in an abandoned jewelry store." He replied. "I remember Adagio talking about her old necklace. About how much she missed it. She even drew me a picture of what it looked like. So you could imagine how excited I felt when I found this." He sighed once more as he looked down at it. "I was going to give this to her today. But having to save the others, even though only two of them made it back, prevented me from doing it. Even if she said no, I still would've given it to her."

"I'm sure she would've loved it, Bull." She replied. "And I'm sure she wouldn't have said no to a date."

"You think so?"

"I do." Twilight said before putting her hand on top of his. As she looked up into his eyes, Twilight could see a few tears start to streak down his blue colored cheeks. Bull's eyes though immediately broke contact with hers and looked down to the floor.

"Why did it have to be her though?" He asked. "Why did they take just her?"

"Those two that took her...." She replied. ".... were her sisters."

"Her sisters?"

"That's what Sunset said." She said. "Maybe they just recognized her and waited for the exact moment to strike."

"But why?" He asked before wiping a tear from his eye. "Why would they specifically target her? I've never heard of any infected do that before."

"I'm not sure." Twilight replied. "But that's why we need to get out of here while we still can. There's a plan already made for us to escape."

"I know." He said. "I could hear you all through the door."

"Well then. Do you want to come and live in Equestria with us?"

Bull looked up toward Twilight when she asked that. He then looked back down toward the floor.

"I don't think now is the best time for me to make a decision." He replied. "I'm still upset about what happened."

"Take your time, Bull." Twilight said before a yawn escaped from her mouth. "We'll be having a meeting with everyone else tomorrow where we'll discuss this. Will you be there?"

"Sure." He replied. "I'll come."

"Good." She said before surprising Bull by giving him a hug. "You know. Even though we've only known each other for not even a day, I know that Adagio would've been a lucky girl to have you as her boyfriend."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're kind, strong, brave, and were willing to protect a complete stranger like me when I was cornered by Ms. Cheerilee." She replied. "I'm sure that there's more to you than that. But this is all that I know after only knowing you for this long." After saying that, the room became silent as Twilight continued her hug, feeling Bull's heartbeat against her chest. Soon, she felt his arms reach up and wrap around her as he returned the hug.

"Thank you." He replied before sniffling. Twilight pulled back slightly to find tears now streaming down his cheeks. Upon seeing that, she made sure to hold him close as he finally stopped holding his feelings in. After a few minutes, Twilight felt his hands begin moving away. She then loosened her grip on him and finally pulled away completely.

"Do you feel better at all?" She asked.

"A little." He replied before wiping his nose with his sleeve. "Not much. But a little."

"Well it's a start at least." She said before yawning again. "I think I'm gonna go back out into the hall now and try to get some sleep."

"Alright." He replied. "I'll try and get some as well. Won't promise I will. But I'll try." With that said, Twilight got up and started making her way toward the door. "Hey." He said, making her look at him. "If you want to, you can sleep on the couch. I have no problem sleeping on the floor."

"Well.... I appreciate the offer." She replied. "But no. I'll let you have it. I've got a sleeping bag out in the hall."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." She then opened the door after saying that. "Good night, Bull."

"Good night, Twilight." He replied. "And.... thanks for coming in and checking up on me."

"Anytime." She said. "I'm sure the others would've done the same thing if they weren't sleeping."

"Yeah." He said before Twilight stepped out into the hall. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night." She replied before closing the door. Once closed, Twilight looked down and saw the glow of light coming from under the door disappear. "Well...." She thought as she stepped over her friends again to return to her sleeping bag. "I think that went really well."

Chapter Ten

View Online

After spending the night out in the hallway, Sunset, Twilight, and the rest of their friends were outside enjoying some fresh air. Earlier on, Sunset had made the announcement for a group assembly for later in the afternoon to discuss the plan of going to Equestria with the rest of the people here. But until then, they all seemed content with laying down while looking up at the gray colored sky. From the look of it, rain was definitely on the way. But with every radio station and television news network in town out of commission, the weather could only be judged by sight.

"So what do you think, Twi?" Sunset said as the two were laying down on the gravel that covered the ground around the old factory building. "Do you think that everyone else is gonna go along with our plan?"

"I certainly hope so." She replied. "But we aren't going to force them if they don't want to. The choice would be theirs to make."

"Yeah. But it's logically the best choice for their survival. No more having to ration food and water. No more having to deal with the infected. The only downside is that it'll take way more time for the others to adjust than it would for you and me."

"I know. But I'm sure that they can adapt to their new forms. It'll just take more time if they become like their respective counterparts in Equestria. For some, they'd have to learn how to use magic and others would have to learn to fly. I can only imagine how hard it'll be for Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and my other self to adjust."

"Don't forget about Dean Cadence." Sunset added. This made Twilight's eyes shoot wide open before she turned to look at her friend with a surprised expression on her face.

"Dean.... Cadence?"

"Yeah." Sunset replied. "She used to work for that academy I told you about when you were here last. She and Shining Armor both managed to get here when things went south."

"What about Flurry Heart?"

"Yeah. She's here too. I'm sure they'll all be at the assembly later on if you want to meet them."

"I'd like that." Twilight replied before hearing footsteps coming up to them. Looking up toward the direction the noise was coming from, she saw Bull standing a few feet away. Without his mirrored sunglasses, Twilight could see that his eyes were slightly red from crying.

"Hey Twi. Hey Sunset." He said in a depressed tone. "How are things out here?"

"Hey Bull." Sunset replied after sitting up and turning to face him. "Things are pretty good out here. How are you feeling?"

"Eh. I've definitely been better. Gonna be a while before I get over what happened yesterday. If I even manage to."

"Which is completely understandable." Twilight replied. "And just remember that you have us to talk to whenever you need to."

"I know that. And I'm grateful for it." He said before kicking at the gravel. "It's just different not seeing Dagi around." He then wiped a tear that was forming in his eye away. As she looked on, Twilight could see the strap of the necklace that he was going to give to Adagio hanging out of his coat pocket.

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" Sunset asked while getting up. "Anything you need. You name it and we'll do our best to make it happen."

"I can't really think of anything right now." He replied before sighing. After he did that, Sunset gently placed her hand on his shoulder and slowly gave him a hug.

"I know you must be feeling really sad right now, Bull." She said while keeping him in her embrace. "But please don't blame yourself for her. It was no one's fault that this happened. None of us saw Aria and Sonata until they already had Adagio in their clutches."

"I know." He replied. "I'm just.... depressed knowing that I had an active role in the infections of my best friend and the woman that I loved."

"Neither of them was your fault, Bull." Twilight said. "You told me that you got separated from Steel and you didn't realize it until you got back to your truck. You were trying to save yourself. It was just unfortunate that he didn't make it. Nothing to blame yourself for."

Bull just sighed again as Sunset let go of him. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace before looking down at it. As he did, both Twilight and Sunset could see tears begin streaming down his cheeks as the hand holding the necklace clenched into a fist.

"Let it out, Bull." The humanized alicorn said while putting her hand on his other shoulder. "Just like last night. Let your feelings out."

"Last night?" Sunset asked.

"I couldn't sleep knowing he was in emotional turmoil." She replied. "So I went in to check on him. We talked for a little bit and he let his feelings out." After she said that, Bull's dark blue cheeks acquired a slight shade of red. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Bull. We all do it in times like this."

"Precisely." Sunset added. "None of us will judge you or make fun of you for showing your emotions." Bull just sighed for a moment before tilting his head to look at the ground.

"So have you decided on whether or not you want to come back with us to Equestria?" Twilight asked, hoping a change in subject would help get his mind off of Adagio. But rather than answer, Bull just stayed silent while he kept looking at the ground.

"I know it's a tough decision." Sunset said. "And if you don't want to go, we won't force you. The decision is yours to make."

"If you want more information about Equestria, I'm sure Sunset and I can answer any question you have." Twilight added. Bull just sighed before looking up at the two of them.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure." He replied.

"Well you don't need to decide now." Sunset said. "We'll be having a meeting in an hour to go over the plan with everyone else. Are you gonna be there?"

"Yeah." He replied. "I'll be there."

"Great." She said before the sound of her stomach growling could be heard. A sheepish smile soon appeared on her face along with a bit of red in her cheeks. "How about we all go and get something to eat before the assembly." She said. "I hear Pinkie Pie's making some pizza." Twilight's eyes widened when she heard what her friend had said. It certainly was some time since she had this world's pizza.

"I suppose some pizza would be nice." Bull replied. "I haven't eaten anything since last night."

"Well then we should probably go get some." Sunset said before turning to look at the rest of her friends. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sitting at a picnic table while arm wrestling as Rarity and Spitfire looked on. "Hey guys!" Sunset called out, making all of them look toward her. "You want some pizza?"

"Sure!" Applejack replied before Rainbow quickly took advantage of Applejack being distracted and slammed her wrist to the table.

"Ha!" Rainbow replied as Rarity and Spitfire started walking over toward the others before she got up. "I win!"

"Hey! No fair!" Applejack protested. "I was answerin' Sunset's question!"

"Yeah yeah yeah." The rainbow haired girl said as she walked over toward the group. "I still won."

Applejack just growled slightly in response. "Best two out of three!" She said before jogging after her.

"Maybe after we get some food." Rainbow replied. "I'm starving."

"Fine." She replied before they all walked into the main building and made their way to the cafeteria. The smell of fresh pizza was making every one of them hungry.

"Once we finish eating, we'll start the assembly." Sunset said as they got into the line of people waiting for food. After saying that, she turned to look at Twilight. "I may need your help in explaining what Equestria is like to the others."

"Me?" Twilight asked as her pupils shrank. "What for?"

"Because I haven't been to Equestria for a long time." Sunset replied as she placed her arm around Twilight's body to try calming her down. "I can barely remember half of the towns and other countries. You'd know it way better than I would." Twilight quietly sighed after hearing that. She knew her friend was right. Equestria was a completely different world compared to this one. And if Sunset was going to be able to convince everyone else to come, she'd need all the help she could get.

"Okay." She replied. "I'll do it."

"Great." Sunset said before pulling her friend into a hug. "I really appreciate it." Upon feeling the hug, Twilight gained a smile on her face before returning it. After a minute or so, they let go of each other before everyone grabbed a tray and began to get their food. The makeshift cafeteria nearly resembled the one at Canterlot High with a counter that had many different kinds of pizza. Cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and many other kinds lined the counter top.

"Hey guys!" Pinkie called out as she just finished placing a fresh pizza on the counter. "Get your pizza now while it's still hot." Doing as instructed, they all took their slices of pizza and made their way over to an empty table nearby. Pinkie Pie soon joined them as well as she had been baking since morning.

Twilight sat between Sunset and Bull as they all started eating. As soon as the delicious food entered her mouth, she let out a moan of satisfaction. It had been so long since she last had this food. Everyone else just chuckled as they listened to the humanized alicorn's reaction to the food. Even Bull smiled as he ate his food, which made Twilight even happier to see her friend smile for the first time since Adagio's unfortunate demise.

"So what exactly would I be in Equestria?" Bull asked after he swallowed the piece of pizza in his mouth.

"I'm not sure." Twilight replied. "I've never met your Equestrian counterpart. You could be an earth pony, a pegasus, a unicorn, or even an entirely different species such as a griffon or a dragon."

"I see." He replied before sighing a bit. "I guess there's only one way to find out then." Everyone immediately turned to look at him after hearing him say that.

"Does that mean you've decided to come back with us?"

"Yeah." He replied. Immediately after saying that, he found himself trapped in a tight hug from Twilight, soon to be joined by Sunset and the others. "Too... tight!" He grunted, prompting everyone to let go. Once they did, Bull breathed slowly for a moment before looking back at Twilight. "Under one condition though."

"What would that be?"

"I get to keep Steel's sword with me. I'd be fine leaving my shotgun, but that's the only thing I have left to remind me of him." He replied before pointing to the sword still strapped around Twilight's body.

Twilight just smiled before nodding her head. "I'm sure that wouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll explain the circumstance to Princess Celestia once we get back to Equestria."

"Alright." He replied before he started eating again. But just before Twilight could start eating once again, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"Hello there uh... other me." Twilight said before the Equestrian Princess turned around to find her human counterpart standing by three other people. Two of them appeared to be adults while one of them was holding a child in her arms. They all looked extremely familiar. "Twilight." She said before pointing to the others. "Even though you probably know who these people are, I'd like for you to meet them." She then hugged the man that was next to her. "This is Shining Armor, my big brother." Twilight's eyes widened when she looked at her brother's human counterpart.

"So she's the other you that I've heard so much about, huh?" He said as he looked at Twilight before a smile appeared on his face. He then extended his hand out toward her. "Well it's nice to finally meet you."

Twilight reached out and took hold of his hand before giving it a shake. "It's nice to meet you too." She replied in a gentle tone. Shining's smile grew a bit bigger as he turned his head toward the woman.

"This is my wife, former Dean of Crystal Prep Academy, Cadence." His hand soon let go of Twilight's before it came to rest on the head of the baby that was in Cadence's arms. "And this little bundle of joy is our daughter, Flurry Heart." Twilight's smile only grew bigger as she looked at the baby. She reminded her of her Equestrian niece so much that she almost wanted to reach out and hold her. But she resisted the urge and just gently rubbed her hand on Flurry's cheek.

"So how long have you been here for?" Cadence asked as Twilight pulled her hand away.

"Since yesterday." She replied. "Even though I've only been here for a short time, I've already witnessed and experienced so much."

"Oh? Like what?"

"It's a long story." She said.

"Oh!" Shining quickly said before his head turned toward Sunset. "I almost forgot to tell you. The cannons have just been cleaned and are ready to go in the event of an attack."

"Shining. We haven't had an attack since we came here." Sunset replied.

"I know. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared." He then turned and wrapped his arm around Cadence. "Well we're gonna go out and get some fresh air before this assembly of yours. We'll see you soon."

"Alright then." Sunset said before the four of them began to walk toward the main doors.

"Sunset?" Twilight asked after watching them leave. "What cannons were he talking about?"

"Some old cannons we salvaged from a museum a few months back. They were part of an exhibit on the pirates of Horseshoe Bay a few centuries back." She replied. "They're meant to help protect us from large scale attacks by the infected. They may be old, but they have a longer range than our portable guns. Only downside to using them is that they're not that easy to move."

"But I thought you said that you haven't had an attack here."

"Doesn't mean that they aren't used for target practice." She said. "Even though they're loud, they aren't loud enough to attract the infected here. So Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Shining and the volunteers that chose to defend this lot have been using them for practice in case we get attacked."

"I... see." Twilight replied. Even though she's already witnessed and survived a large attack from the infected, she still didn't feel right knowing that the only way that she, Sunset and her friends have been defending themselves was by killing the infected people. It wasn't like these people chose to get infected, but it still made her sad to think about some of the people that she once knew were now either infected or dead. "And um... what exactly do they shoot?"

"Specially created shells that explode on impact." She replied. "Your counterpart designed them so that they would only explode once they hit something. Not when being fired."

Twilight's pupils shrank when she heard that. "A-Are you sure that is necessary? That seems a bit... extreme to be honest."

Sunset gently put her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Twi. You've seen what the infected are capable of. You've experienced what it's like to be attacked by a horde. If you were here from day 1 when this all started, you'd understand. But fortunately for us... and them I suppose, we haven't needed to use them in defense."

"H-How many of these do you have?"

"Eight." She said before directing Twilight to look out of one of the windows. "All of them are stationed to guard the only way the infected could get to us." Doing as instructed, Twilight got up and walked over to one of the large windows. From there, she could see all eight cannons stationed high on an widened portion of the metal catwalk. With the only way to the factory being the bridge that crosses the river, they were in perfect position to defend the facility.

"Well." Twilight replied as she gazed at the cannons. "Let's hope that they won't be needed. Especially if all of us go to Equestria."

"I hope not." Sunset said before she looked over at the clock. "Speaking of going to Equestria..." She then sighed a little after saying that. "I suppose it's time to call the assembly."

"Agreed." She said before Sunset reached down and took hold of her walkie and brought it close to her lips.

"Principal Celestia. Come in."

"What is it, Sunset?" Celestia's voice asked.

"It's time to get the assembly started. Please announce it over the speakers to have everyone come to the cafeteria."

"Okay." She replied. Once that was said, Sunset hooked the walkie back on her pants. Soon, the speakers mounted on the wall began to crackle before the sound of Principal Celestia clearing her throat could be heard. "Attention." She said over the speakers. "It is time for the assembly led by Sunset Shimmer. Everyone is to report to the cafeteria immediately. That is all."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of thunder could be heard before rain could be seen coming down outside.

"Well. At least it shouldn't take long for everyone to get here." Sunset said as she watched many people begin to enter the room. She then turned to her friends who had just taken a seat at the table they were eating at. "I'm not going to force anyone to make their decision. But maybe if I show them that some of us are going to Equestria, it might ease their decision making. Can I point you all out to them since you've all made your decision?"

"Sure thing, Sunset." Applejack replied.

"Of course you may." Rarity added. Sunset turned to find that the rest of her friends were all nodding their heads too.

"I wish I knew what Fluttershy would want to choose though." Sunset said. "Has she shown up yet?"

"Trying to find Fluttershy in this crowd is like trying to find a needle in a haystack." Applejack replied. "I'm sure she'll be here for your speech."

"I hope so." Sunset replied before turning to Pinkie. "By the way. Did you make your decision yet?"

"Well... I would miss having these." Pinkie replied before moving her fingers in front of her face. "But if it means no more infected, then sign me up." Sunset couldn't help but smile in response before she looked around to find that the room was now packed with people. She softly sighed once she saw how many were in here before she climbed up onto the table that her friends were sitting at.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" She called out. Soon, the only sounds that could be heard was the sound of raindrops against the roof and the occasional roar of thunder. "Thank you." She said before clearing her throat. "Now I'm sure many of you are wondering why I've called you all here. The reason why is because I know of a way that we can escape from this life of having to fight to survive."

"How can we do that?" A voice from the crowd asked.

"We have been granted permission to live in the world that I came from." Sunset replied. "We can go to Equestria." After saying that, she heard many people quietly discussing things around her. "I know that leaving this world in favor of going to one where you'd have to adapt to a new body, lifestyle, and culture is a tough choice to make. But I promise you that we would never have to worry about the infected again."

Many people listened intently to what Sunset had said before they started to converse with each other once more.

"Now I'm not forcing you to stay or go. The choice is yours to make." She continued. "But I want to point out to you all that some of us have already made their decision." Sunset's finger soon pointed out to her friends. "I'm going to Equestria. And so is Applejack, Rarity, Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Bullseye."

"How are we going to survive if all of our scavengers are leaving?" A voice called out.

"I'm sure that those of you who choose to stay will have new scavengers." Sunset replied before turning toward Twilight and gesturing to her to stand on the table. "And now to help explain what life would be like in Equestria. Allow me to introduce Equestria's Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight immediately gulped before she heard everyone in the room begin to clap as she stepped up to stand next to Sunset. Looking around the room, she saw many faces. Some she knew and some she didn't. But all of them seemed interested in what she had to say.

As the clapping died down, Twilight took in a big breath before she slowly exhaled. She was incredibly nervous about having to speak. Even though this wasn't the first time she's spoken in front of crowds, she never had to talk about abandoning one world to go live in another. But she soon felt Sunset's hand grab hold of her own, making her look down at them before looking up at her friend.

"It's okay, Twilight." She said in a soft and gentle tone. "You can do this." Twilight gave her a small smile in response before she turned back to look at the crowd.

"Umm.... hello everyone." She said in a nervous tone. "As Sunset pointed out, I am a Princess of Equestria. So if you have any questions about Equestria, please ask."

"What's it like there?" A voice asked before Twilight recognized Applejack's younger sister, Applebloom, step forward.

"That's a good question." Twilight replied. "Equestria is a wonderful place filled with the nicest ponies you'd ever meet. And I'm sure that they will help you adjust to becoming ponies just as much as I and my friends there will. Now I'm not 100% sure on this, but if I'm right, you will become the same type of pony that your Equestrian counterpart is." Just like with Sunset before, many people started talking quietly to others in the crowd. "For example." She continued before pointing to Applebloom. "Your Equestrian counterpart is an earth pony."

"What about me?" Another voice asked before it was found to be Scootaloo who asked it.

"You would be a pegasus." She replied. Scootaloo's face immediately gained a big smile when she heard that before she started jumping with joy.

"And me?" A different voice asked. This time, it was Rarity's little sister, Sweetie Belle.

"You'd be a unicorn." Twilight replied, resulting in Sweetie Belle following Scootaloo's actions before the transformed alicorn noticed Applebloom looking down. "Now just because you'd be an earth pony, Applebloom. That doesn't mean you aren't special. Earth ponies are among the strongest in Equestria. They are also fast runners and they can also be the best farmers in all of Equestria." Applebloom's face lit up after hearing that as she soon was jumping with the rest of her friends. Seeing this made both Twilight and Sunset smile before both of them looked at the rest of the crowd.

"Living in Equestria wouldn't be a bad thing." Sunset said. "It is a beautiful place filled with many different species. Some of which you'd never see in this world. It would just take a lot of time to adjust. But there is one thing you all need to take into account before you make your decision."

"What's that?" A man's voice in the crowd asked.

"If you come with us to Equestria..." Sunset said before her eyes tilted down toward the floor. "There's no going back." The sounds of many people gasping in surprise immediately followed what she said. "In order to protect their subjects from this disease, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are going to destroy the portal. That means no coming back here... and no other chance to leave." Her eyes soon looked up toward the crowd as they looked at her with shocked expressions on their faces. "The decision is yours to make. I'm not going to force you to choose. But if you do choose to stay, then you're doing so at your own risk. I will give you all a day to decide. Tomorrow night, the ones that choose to go will be leaving for the portal. Dismissed."

And with that final word said, the room erupted to a wave of chatter as many people discussed about what had been said as they began to leave the cafeteria. Sunset and Twilight stayed on top of the table until the room had cleared out.

"Umm..... Sunset?" A familiar voice asked before she felt something poke her leg. Sunset looked over to find Fluttershy standing next to the table with a nervous expression on her face. "A-Are you sure about doing this?"

"I am." She replied in a gentle tone before hopping off the table. "We're never going to get another chance like this to escape."

"B-But what about the animals?" She asked. "I-If I go, who will watch them?"

"I don't know, Fluttershy." She said. "Have you decided on whether you're going to come with us?"

"I'm.... not sure yet." She replied. "I-I need to think about it."

"That's fine." Sunset said before she gave her a gentle hug. "You have plenty of time to think it over." But as they hugged, Sunset's walkie began to crackle before a voice could be heard.

"Sunset? Sunset. Come in." A voice said in an urgent sounding tone. Sensing this, Sunset took hold of her walkie and brought it up to her mouth.

"This is Sunset. Who is this and what do you need?"

"Sunset. It's Indigo Zap." The voice replied. Sunset's cheeks turned a slight shade of red upon hearing that as she didn't recognize the former Shadowbolt.

"What do you need, Indigo?"

"We have a group of three approaching the factory on the road." Sunset's eyes widened at what she heard.

"Are they infected? Or no?"

"I.... can't tell." She replied. "They're all wearing hooded sweatshirts."

"Okay." She said. "I'm on my way." After saying that, Sunset hooked the walkie back on her skirt before looking at the others. "Bull. Applejack. I need the two of you to come with me."

"Uh... why?" Bull asked in a confused tone.

"Because we have a group of three coming this way and I'm not sure if they're infected or not. You two are the best when it comes to aiming. So if it turns out that they're infected, we can easily deal with them." Bull just sighed for a moment after hearing that before he nodded in agreement. After seeing that, Sunset turned to look at the others. "We'll be right back."

"Be careful." Twilight said before she grabbed Bull's hand as he was getting up.

"What is it, Twi?" He asked.

"Before I forget...." She said as she undid the strap around her body that held Steel's sword. "I thought you'd like this back." She said before holding it out to him. Bull just gave a small smile before he took hold of the weapon and secured the strap around him.

"Thank you." He said before he started walking toward the door with Applejack and Sunset. "I need to grab something first." He said as he stopped at the door. "I'll meet you two on the catwalk."

"Okay." Sunset replied before she and Applejack started jogging toward the door that led outside. After grabbing two extra coats, the two girls went outside into the rain. It wasn't a hard rain, but visibility was reduced because of it. As they began to climb the stairs leading up to the catwalk, Sunset felt a little uneasy about the situation.

"What do you mean we down two people?" Indigo's voice could be heard.

"What else do you think it means?" Another voice replied. As Sunset and Applejack got onto the catwalk, they found Indigo Zap inches away from the face of Lightning Dust.

"What's going on?" Sunset asked, making the two of them look at her.

"Lightning says we're missing two people." Indigo replied. This made Sunset raise an eyebrow before she looked at Lightning.

"Who are we missing?"

"Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet." She replied.

Sunset sighed a little after hearing those names. "Go and see if they're still inside." She said. "If they aren't, come find me."

"Yes ma'am." Lightning replied in a lower tone before she walked between Sunset and Applejack before disappearing down the stairs.

"Are the three people you reported still there?" Sunset asked before turning to look at the road leading away from the factory.

"Let me see." She replied before she took out a set of binoculars and started to look through them. "Looks like one is still there. But I've lost the other two. It's hard to see in this rain."

"What's going on?" Bull's voice asked. Sunset turned around to find her friend standing by Applejack while holding Adagio's crossbow in his grasp.

"I have one of the three in sight." Indigo replied. "But I can't see the other two."

"Let me have a look." Bull said before he stood next to her while putting the crossbow down. Upon hearing that, Indigo gave him the binoculars before she stood up and stepped back. Once they were in his grip, he began to look through them. One person immediately came into view but he couldn't see any other people. "I'm not seeing anyone else." He said as he looked back at the one he could see. But just before he started to move them away from his eyes, the figure removed its hood, revealing something that made Bull's jaw drop. "A-Adagio?"

"What did you say?" Sunset asked.

"It's Adagio!" Bull replied as he kept his focus on her. Her poofy orange colored hair was messed up and her eyes were like all of the other infected: bloodshot red. But through the binoculars, Bull could see that she was looking directly at him before she raised her right arm and pointed at him. "What the..." He said before he felt two warm things wrap around his body and immediately start pulling him.

"Bull!" Sunset and Applejack both cried out at the same time as he was pulled over the wall. Both girls reacted fast enough to grab his legs before he could be completely pulled over. But they were struggling to keep him from going any further. "Help!" Sunset called out, prompting Indigo to step in and help by grabbing Sunset's waist and pulling.

"We got you, Bull!" She called out as the three of them slowly started to pull him back. "Just hang on!"

Bull couldn't reply due to having one of the slimy things over his mouth. From where he was, he could see the restraints branch off in two different directions. He could only assume that it was Adagio's sisters that were trying to abduct him. He struggled hard to get his arms free, but found it to be extremely difficult to move. But then his eyes focused back on Adagio as she held both of her arms out toward him as though she wanted to hug him.

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't mind giving you a hug, Dagi." He thought as he continued to struggle. "But if I do it this time, I'm gonna regret it!"

"He's slipping!" Applejack cried out from behind him. "I'm losing my grip!" This only made him double his efforts to get free as it wouldn't be long before the three of them could no longer hold him back. With one final pull, he felt his right arm become free from the slimy imprisonment. Once he felt this, he reached back and took hold of the sword strapped to his back as he felt himself being pulled toward Adagio. Sunset, Applejack, and Indigo were struggling as hard as they could to keep him from reuniting with his crush, but they couldn't hold him much longer.

After a brief struggle, he managed to free the sword from the sheath. Adagio's expression changed as soon as she saw the blade being wielded.

"I'm sorry, Adagio." He thought as his eyes looked directly into hers. "I love you." Once that was said in his mind, he swung the blade as hard as he could, slicing through both of the tongues before he felt himself fall until he stopped against the wall. Soon, he was pulled back over the wall to safety. As he looked up, Indigo and Applejack high fived each other as Sunset knelt down to check on him.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she looked at him.

"I'm.... fine." He replied before looking back to find Adagio walk up to the wall and pick something up. Bull looked closer and soon saw that it was his hat that was in her grasp. The four of them then watched as she and her sisters raced back off into the darkness. "Come on." He said before he started making his way back to the stairs. "Lets go inside before-"

Before he could finish his sentence however, a loud scream could be heard from where the infected Dazzlings rushed off to. It didn't take long before a response could be heard in the form of a familiar cry by a certain vehicle throwing behemoth that they had met before.

"Well....." Sunset said as more sounds besides the rain, which was beginning to let up, and the occasional thunder joined in. "That doesn't sound good."

Chapter Eleven

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"This ain't good." Indigo said as she looked through her goggles out into the darkness. "This ain't good at all." As she looked, Sunset, Bull, and Applejack all gathered around her to try and see what was going on. But unlike Indigo, they weren't wearing goggles fitted with night vision. So all they could see was what the lights on the side of the yard they were on would let them see.

"What is it?" Sunset asked while squinting her eyes to try and see what was going on. "What do you see?"

"A massive horde's coming this way." She replied before another loud scream could be heard. This made them all cover their ears until it stopped. Once it did, Indigo looked out once more. "And it looks like Adagio's the one that's getting their attention."

"What?" Bull asked as soon as he heard what she said. "Are you sure?"

"See for yourself if you want." She replied before removing her goggles and offering them to him. He looked at them for a moment before grabbing hold and putting them on. Once he got used to seeing through them, he looked out toward the bridge. Just beyond it, he could see what Indigo was talking about.

The road leading into the city was infested with infected people coming toward the factory. More than anything he had encountered before. Even the horde at Canterlot High paled in comparison to what was coming.

"Uh.... Sunset?" He asked in a nervous tone while keeping his gaze on the approaching infected.

"What is it, Bull?"

"Sound the alarm." Those three words made everyone around him gasp softly. A few seconds of silence followed before Sunset let out a soft sigh.

"Should've known this moment would come eventually." She said as her hands gripped tightly around her gun. "I'll get right on it." She then turned toward the stairs leading to the ground. "Bull...." She said in a low tone. "I know you don't want to hear this. But if Adagio's leading this attack-"

"I know." He replied, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence. He then sighed heavily as he kept looking out toward the bridge. Standing just on the other side of it was Adagio, flanked by both of her sisters. The former scavenger had one hand out like a traffic cop, halting all of the infected before they could start to cross the bridge while her other hand clenched tightly around his black hat. Seeing this, he knew that time was running out before the battle would begin. "Go." He said before looking at her. "Before they start the attack."

Sunset nodded before she started to rush down the stairs. Her destination was a modified siren that Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Spitfire recovered. It would be loud enough to alert everyone to what was coming, but it was also loud enough to give Adagio notice that they'd be preparing for what was to come. Once she got back on the ground, she sprinted faster than she ever had before while she reached out and grabbed her walkie.

"Principal Celestia!" She shouted as she kept her pace. "We have a code red! I repeat! A code red!"

"What?" Celestia's voice asked. "Did you just say code red? Are you sure?"

"Positive!" She replied before stopping beside the pole that the siren was perched on. At the same level her eyes were was a metal cabinet. Sunset quickly opened it to reveal a large red button. Without a moment's hesitation, she slammed her fist against the button before looking up at the siren as it activated.

With the unmistakable sound of the 'Infected Attack' alarm growing louder by the second, Bull looked back out through the goggles and noticed Adagio look back toward the factory. He could see her facial expression turn to one of anger with her fist clenching tightly around the brim of his hat, mad over the fact that she'd be encountering the cannons and their explosive shells. Soon, Aria and Sonata turned to look toward the base as well. But instead of attacking with the forces they have, all three of them looked back toward their increasing army of infected.

"Why are you doing this, Adagio?" Bull thought as he kept looking on. "Why are you trying to get us all infected with that fucking disease?"

"Anything you need me to do?" Applejack asked, making Bull look at her. He sighed softly before glancing back to Adagio and her infected army before looking back at his friend.

"Just get ready for a war." He replied. "You're gonna need all the ammo you can carry and then something to hit them with when you run out. Once you get done with that, make sure your sister, her friends, and any of the other children get to the safe room." Her pupils shrank when she heard what he said. "I don't want any of them to see what's about to happen." Applejack slowly nodded before she took off down the stairs as well, leaving Bull and Indigo alone on the platform with all of the cannons. A few seconds passed before he turned and started going toward the stairs. "Indigo. I'm going to go get myself some more ammo. Do you need anything?" He asked as he took off the goggles and tossed them back to her.

"I'll get what I need myself." She replied as she caught them. "But that can wait until these bad boys are up and firing." Bull nodded before going down the stairs and running toward the building.

"So Bull told me that Adagio used to sing for everyone here." Twilight said as she sat with her friends. "Is that true?"

"Yeah. It's true." Spitfire replied. "She and your friends were actually pretty good together." This made Twilight's eyes fly open before she turned to look at the others, who just nodded to confirm what Spitfire had said.

"She actually performed with you guys?"

"Yeah." Rainbow replied. "But she was very insistent that she be the lead singer." After saying that, she reached inside one of her jacket's pockets and pulled out her phone before turning it on. "This thing may be pretty much useless for talking, but that don't mean I can't use it to record stuff." After a few minutes of keeping the phone in front of herself while swiping her thumb across the screen, she turned it to show a video to Twilight.

"What else you got on there, Rainbow?" Spitfire asked while giving her a playful look. "Sure took you a while to get to that video."

"Nothing!" She quickly replied as her cheeks turned slightly red. Before Spitfire could get a chance to reply, Rainbow's thumb pressed against the screen to start the video. It was a video of a performance that Adagio and the Rainbooms did a few weeks back. As Twilight watched, she could see that they all enjoyed performing together. Adagio was definitely a different person from when she and her sisters tried taking over the school. She genuinely looked happy to be singing once more. Only this time, it was for a better cause than gaining power.

Once the video ended, a loud noise could be heard coming from outside. All conversations stopped as the noise grew louder as each second passed.

"Attention. May I have your attention please." Principal Celestia's voice said over the intercom. "We are in a code red situation. I repeat. A code red situation. All members of the cannon crews and building defense squads are to report to their positions immediately. All children and their guardians, please make your way to the safe room. This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill."

As the message was said once again over the intercom, everyone in the room started to panic as most of the guys in the room rushed out, some giving their loved ones a long hug before joining the others. Seeing this, Twilight looked at her brother's human counterpart as he stood with Cadence, Flurry Heart, and the other Twilight.

"Cadence." She heard him say before seeing him pull his wife and Flurry into a hug. "I want you and Flurry to get to the safe room as fast as you can. And no matter what. Do not come out until this blows over." Cadence just silently nodded as they kept the embrace going for almost another minute before he raced out of the room.

"What safe room is he talking about?" Twilight whispered.

"It's a modified room." Rarity replied. "Designed to look exactly like all of the other rooms from the outside except for reinforced walls and a heavy steel plated door. I helped in designing the interior to be comfortable and safe for anyone who would be inside."

"I see." She replied just her counterpart raced out of the room. "Wait. Where's she going?"

"She's.... part of the cannon crew." Cadence replied while wiping a tear from her eye. "She designed the shells that go into the cannons. So she has to supervise their handling by the loaders." Twilight nodded before turning to see Rainbow and Spitfire hugging their friends.

"You guys too?" She asked.

"Yeah." Spitfire said. "We're not the kind to run and hide when things get heated. Well, unless things get too out of control like what happened yesterday. Right Rainbow?"

"Right." She said before giving Twilight a hug. "Don't worry, Twi. We'll be fine." Even though she said that, Twilight couldn't help but have a tear come to her eye as she watched them race out of the room just as Sunset came in.

"Sunset! What is going on out there? What's a code red?"

"This place is under attack by an army of infected." She replied. "Or I should say it will be soon. Come on. I'll lead you to the safe room."

"But what about you?" She asked as Sunset grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the door she came in from. "Are you gonna be coming with?"

"No." She replied without looking back or stopping.

"What?!" Twilight asked as she was still being pulled. "Why not?"

"Twilight. I'm in charge of everything around here. What kind of example would I be setting if I was in the safety and comfort of the safe room while the infected were attacking?"

"But what about going back to Equestria?" This question made Sunset stop and turn to look at her.

"That's why you're going to the safe room, Twilight." She replied. "If.... I.... don't make it through this, you'll have to be the one to lead those that choose to go."

"What?!" Twilight replied in a panicked tone, now with more tears in her eyes. Letting her emotions control her actions, Twilight grabbed her friend and pulled her in for a tight hug while her tears were starting to stream down her cheeks. Sunset slowly wrapped her arms around her afterwards.

"Twilight," Sunset said in a calming voice. "I'm not saying it will happen. But the possibility is there." She then gently placed her hand against her friend's tear covered cheek and looked into her eyes. "Look. You and I are the only ones here that'll be able to help those who choose to go adjust. And if I die, they'll still have you. I need you to be brave now, Twilight. Set an example for others to follow. Because if I don't come back, they'll be looking to you for leadership."

After a few seconds, Sunset pulled herself away from the hug and led the group down a hallway that was packed with people moving in different directions.

"This way." Sunset said before turning around a corner before stopping in front of a red painted metal door. It had a small opening in it to see through with iron bars stopping anyone from reaching through it. Sunset opened it to find the room filled with many children and those who wished not to fight. She then stepped aside and motioned for the others to go in.

Twilight looked between the room and Sunset a few times before nodding slowly and walking in, followed by Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. Once in, Twilight turned around to look at Sunset with a few tears still coming from her eyes. Sunset stood in the doorway while wiping a tear from her eye before she turned and ran down the hallway, disappearing from Twilight's view.

"Don't worry, darling." Rarity said while placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sure Sunset and everyone else can dispatch those infected easily. We just need to believe in them."

"I know." Twilight replied while keeping her eyes glued to the door, hoping that by some miracle Sunset would change her mind and return. But as the stream of people entering died down, no sign of Sunset could be seen. She then sighed heavily as the last person entered before the door was closed and barred shut on the inside. "Celestia. Please watch over Sunset and the others." She said in her mind before she turned and sat down at a table with the rest of her friends.

"Indigo. What's the status on the infected?" Celestia asked as she and Luna stood by the former Shadowbolt as she peered out into the darkness. The former Vice Principal was clenching a megaphone in her hand, ready to relay information to the crews that were prepping and loading the cannons. The sound of thunder around them returning as lightning flashed in the distance. Under normal circumstances, no one would be outside in the event of a storm. But in this case, they had no choice.

Indigo narrowed her gaze as she looked through her goggles until she could see the group of infected just as Adagio turned and pointed at the factory. Soon after, she began walking forward while flanked on her sides by her sisters. The rest of the horde soon began following the three of them as they slowly started walking across the bridge toward the factory.

"They're coming." She replied. "I'd say maybe five minutes before they're within firing range."

"Alright." Luna replied before turning on the megaphone and bringing it up to her mouth while turning toward the others. "Hurry it up! We've got no time to waste! I want those cannons ready to fire when I give the word!"

As the crews were busy with the cannons, Bull and Applejack made one final sweep inside the main building to make sure no children were outside the safe room. Once they finished with the last room, they started making their way back outside. Along the way, they passed by the door leading into the aforementioned room. With the absence of cannon fire coming from outside, Bull stopped and peered inside to see Twilight and the rest of her friends that chose to stay out of the fight. The humanized alicorn looked like she was barely holding herself together.

"Come on, pardner!" Applejack said as Bull kept looking in. "We gotta keep moving!"

Bull kept silent for a bit as he kept looking at Twilight. He wanted to go in there and try to comfort her as she did for him. But he knew that it wouldn't be the smartest thing to do when he knew a horde bigger than anything that he's seen before was coming. Turning toward Applejack, he slowly nodded his head and the two were on their way again.

With Adagio's crossbow and Steel's sword strapped to his back, Bull followed Applejack into the weapons room to resupply on ammo. Once inside, he started looking for extra arrows until he felt his friend tap him on the shoulder.

"I think this might be a better fit for you." She said as he turned to find his shotgun and a small box full of shells that could be strapped to his waist. Looking at them for just a few seconds, he took hold of them before strapping the box to his side. "Gun's already loaded." Applejack said, making Bull look up at her as she was talking. "I made sure to keep it ready for you when you'd need it."

He smiled before using one hand to hold the shotgun while using the other one to give his friend a hug. She responded by wrapping her arms around him, being mindful of the loaded crossbow on his back.

"Thank you." He said before letting go of her.

"You're welcome, pardner." She replied before picking up her rifle. "Now come on. We don't wanna be missing the action." Bull just nodded before the two of them raced out of the room and made their way outside onto the concrete steps. Once outside, the rain had just started as lightning flashed across the sky. By the steps that they were on, Applejack saw Rainbow Dash and Spitfire dressed in riot gear while sporting shields and batons, most likely commandeered from the police station.

"You guys ready for some fun?" Rainbow asked after noticing her friends on the steps. "Cause I feel like I can take on anything in this!"

"Don't get too overconfident." Bull replied. "You may be protected in that. But it doesn't make you invincible."

"Come on." Applejack said. "We better get up to the platform and see if Sunset and the others need anything." Bull just silently nodded in response before the two of them started going toward the stairs leading up to the catwalk that the cannons were on. Along the way, they could see the cannons being moved into firing position.

"The horde must be close to firing range." Bull said as they started climbing the stairs. Once up at the top, they found the platform filled with dozens of people rushing from one place to another, each one of them carrying automatic rifles. Toward the cannons close to the gate, they found Sunset standing next to Indigo with her AK leaning up against the wall.

"Status update." They heard her say to Indigo while walking.

"Almost within range, Sunset. I'll give you the signal when they are."

"Understood." She replied before turning around and seeing Bull and Applejack approach. Despite all that was going on, seeing them put a smile on her face for a bit.

"You need anything else, Sunset?" Applejack asked as they stopped in front of her. Sunset sighed before shaking her head.

"Nope. Everything's in place. Is everyone who didn't want to fight in the safe room?"

"We made a quick sweep through the building." Bull replied. "It was all clear."

"Good." Sunset said before wiping her forehead. "That's one less thing I have to worry about right now. Anyways, you two need to get to your stations now. Once these cannons start firing, I don't know what the infected will do." Bull and Applejack nodded before they quickly rushed off to their respective stations, leaving Sunset to look back out at the horde. However, due to it being in the middle of night and the rain was becoming more steady, she couldn't really see that far out.

Wanting to see if she could change that, she reached down and grabbed her walkie before bringing it up to her lips.

"Twilight. Come in. Over."

"What is it, Sunset? Is something wrong?" Her friend asked.

"Can you get the spotlights up and running? I can't see much beyond the wall."

"I had a feeling you'd be asking for that. That's why I'm standing next to the main power controls for them." This made Sunset smirk. Just like her Equestrian counterpart in the safe room, this Twilight seemed to be prepared for anything. Soon after the conversation finished, the spotlights near the wall were shining brightly, illuminating the area beyond the wall to just about the bridge.

"Ha!" Indigo called out after the lights came on. "They've stopped!"

"What did you just say?" Sunset asked, making Indigo look up at her.

"They stopped on the bridge. Guess Adagio forgot about the spotlights."

"May I take a look?"

"Sure." She replied before handing Sunset her goggles. Once on, Sunset looked out to see Adagio and her sisters stopped, along with the entire horde, while the three former sirens were shielding their eyes from the light.

"Huh." She thought while watching the three of them look at each other. "Maybe they won't attack after all." But as soon as she said that in her mind, Adagio pointed toward them and let out a loud scream, making everyone at the factory cover their ears. "Sweet Celestia!" Sunset groaned as she closed her eyes and covered her ears. Once she felt that the screaming stopped, Sunset opened her eyes to see the horde was now racing toward them, crossing the point of the maximum range for the cannons.

The former unicorn quickly turned toward Celestia and Luna who had just uncovered their ears as well.

"Fire!" Sunset called out at the top of her lungs.

Celestia and Luna froze for a moment before nodding.

"Fire!" Celestia called out to the cannon crews stationed to the left of her.

"Fire!" Luna called out through her megaphone to the cannon crews stationed on the other side of the gate. Only a few seconds passed before the first shot was fired, the shell soaring through the air before exploding within the horde. Sunset could see chunks of body parts being blown into the air, which made her feel uneasy in her stomach. She knew that these explosive shells were powerful, but she never was able to see their true destructiveness until now. But even though the first shell hit on target, it did nothing to stop the horde from keeping the charge coming.

The rest of the cannons fired their shells, sending more explosive shells into the horde. Even with this display of power, the horde kept charging toward them.

"Gunners! Take your positions!" Sunset heard Shining Armor call out over the noise of the cannons. After hearing that, she nodded before bending over and picking up her gun. As the cannons kept up their fire, everyone who had an assault rifle or pretty much any weapon on them was lining the wall, their barrels pointed toward the oncoming threat.

"Ready!" Shining called out. Sunset clicked off her safety and rested her finger against the trigger, breathing slowly to try and calm herself down. She then looked at Shining as did many of the others, waiting for him to give the signal. He soon did so by pointing out at the horde. "Fire!"

Immediately, the sounds of multiple assault rifles could be heard throughout the area. But even with dozens of guns and cannons being fired at them, the horde eventually reached the wall, making the gunners choose between shooting into the mass of infected, or shooting straight down at the ones pounding at the concrete. But each time one infected would succumb to gunfire, another one would quickly take their place.

Down below on the ground, Twilight kept her ears covered over the sounds of the rifles and cannons. She occasionally glanced over at the supply line of people handing shells up the stairs to the cannons. Even though she was the one that designed and created the shells, she wished she didn't have to. She was sure that there were some infected that were once her friends, people who didn't deserve to be targeted by this level of destruction.

"I wish there was another way." She said to herself before feeling someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to look only to find Big Mac pointing toward the gate. Twilight raised an eyebrow before looking to find that the infected were starting to push against the gate, the only things stopping them from opening being the motors controlling their movement and a few chains that were placed as the cannons were being prepped. But she knew that those wouldn't last long against the force of the horde.

This made her start trembling as she reached down for her walkie.

"Applejack!" She quickly called out into the little device.

"Yeah? What you need, Twi?"

"It's time to bring in that truck of yours! The gate needs reinforcement!"

"Comin' right up." Applejack replied. "Just do what you can until Ol' Betsy gets there."

"Understood." She replied before looking over toward Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and the rest of the Building Defense squad. She waved at them with one hand while pointing toward the gate with the other. As she was doing this, Spitfire looked at what she was doing before looking at where she was pointing toward. She then nodded before turning to the others dressed in riot gear.

"Building Defense squad! Reinforce the gate!" She called out before pointing at the gate. Rainbow Dash and the others nodded in response before all of them raced toward the large gate, their shields in front of them. Rainbow was easily the first one at the gate, pushing against it with all of her strength before the rest soon joined her. Spitfire made sure that every member was pushing against the metal barrier before she joined in herself.

Surprisingly, she found themselves actually pushing forward. Their combined strength, along with the dual motors keeping the gate in place, was winning against the horde. However, that victory was short lived when the horde started pushing back even harder. The chains on the door were stretched as far as they could. Eventually, the space between the two metal gates became wide enough for the infected to start reaching through with their arms.

"Keep.... pushing!" Spitfire called out.

"We're..... trying!" Rainbow called back. A few seconds after she said that though, two long blasts from a truck horn made them all look back to see Applejack and Ol' Betsy coming toward them. Seeing this made them all cheer as the modified tractor got into position with the back of it facing toward the gate.

"Clear a path!" Spitfire cried out as the white reverse lights on the back of the vehicle came on. All of the people pushing quickly got out of the way as Applejack backed Ol' Betsy right up to the gate, pushing the metal barrier shut. The people around the truck cheered and hollered, confident that the infected weren't gonna get in now that the gate was blocked by a large vehicle.

From her position on the catwalk above, Sunset looked down at the gate as she was reloading her gun. She smirked after seeing Ol' Betsy keeping the infected from breaking through the gate before a large explosion near the wall made her and the others drop down to the metal.

"What in Equestria was that?!" She said in her mind before feeling another one close by before hearing the familiar roar of a certain vehicle tossing behemoth. Feeling Indigo's goggles still around her head, Sunset pulled them over her eyes and quickly peeked over the wall before seeing something straight out of a video game. Bulk Biceps was catching the explosive shells being fired at him before hurling them back at the wall, taking out dozens of infected in the process. But his aim was getting more accurate with each throw. If this kept up, he'd eventually hit the wall with one of the shells.

"Concentrate fire on the big guy!" She called out at the top of her lungs, making the cannons stop firing momentarily as the cannon crews adjusted their respective aims. With what limited space they were able to turn, all eight cannons were either pointed at Bulk or the area around him. "Fire!"

As soon as she said that, all eight cannons fired one after the other, sending all eight of their explosive shells toward the big guy. Sunset was confident that there was no way he'd withstand it as she looked on. But what happened next was completely unexpected. Bulk leaned forward onto his hands, as though he was doing a handstand, before pushing himself up into the air, grabbing two of the shells mid-flight as the rest exploded around him.

"Did you know he could do that?!" Indigo shouted as she looked at Sunset with fear in her eyes. Sunset just stood frozen in place as she watched the big guy land, shaking her head while not looking away. Bulk then let out a loud roar as he hurled the two shells back toward the wall just before he was struck by at least three shells, resulting in a large explosion.

"Take cover!" She cried out as both shells hit the metal gate, sending Ol' Betsy and Applejack toward the building. The large truck thankfully came to a rest on the passenger side without breaching any of the main building walls. Sunset desperately wanted to go and see if Applejack was alright, but with the gate now destroyed, there was nothing holding back the horde from entering the perimeter. She had to do what she could and try and weaken the horde so the people below would have an easier time defending themselves.

Meanwhile on the ground, the Building Defense squad quickly formed a barricade with their shields ready and guns drawn. With the horde now beginning to make their way through what was left of the gates, it was up to them to make sure none of the infected made it inside.

"Building Defense Squad! Advance!" Spitfire cried out as the group started pushing forward, shooting their guns while blocking the infected with their shields. Rainbow and Spitfire stood side by side as they moved forward, bashing the infected with their batons before switching to their guns and finishing them off with a bullet to their head. This strategy was actually doing really well as the infected were finding themselves contained.

From where she was standing though, Twilight felt vulnerable now that the perimeter was breached. Backing away slowly, she looked around, trying to find a place to avoid being spotted. Her eyes soon found an old gardener's shed that was used to store tools.

Not wasting a second to think, Twilight dashed toward the shed with all of the speed her legs could give. Shining Armor looked back at her from his position on the catwalk. Watching her run toward the shed made him breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that his little sister was hopefully going to be safe.

Within seconds, Twilight had arrived at the door to the shed, opened it, and then slammed it shut behind her. Inside the shed was various gardening tools ranging from shovels and rakes to a curled up hose and a chainsaw on a shelf mounted above her. She breathed heavily as she sat in the far corner, listening to the sounds of rifles, cannons, and the variety of noises coming from the infected.

"What am I going to do?" She said in her mind. "I can't stay in this shed forever. But if I leave, I'll get spotted."

"Or... you can fight." Another voice in her mind said, a voice that she hadn't heard for quite some time. Soon enough, she found herself no longer inside the shed, but in a dark purple void. Twilight looked around, but all she found was endless space.

"Midnight? Is that you?" Twilight asked.

"Seriously. With that magical gift of yours, you shouldn't be cowering in a shed." Midnight's voice said before she herself appeared in front of her. Twilight shook for a moment after seeing her corrupted self. "If I was in control, this little infected problem of yours would've been dealt with by now."

"Well you're not. And you never will be." Twilight replied. Midnight just rolled her eyes as she listened.

"You don't think I know that?" She asked. "Look. As much as I would enjoy taking control and doing it myself, I can't. But I'm not gonna sit by as you hide in a shed when you should be out there using what you've been given."

"So then what should I do?"

"Do what I'd do...." Midnight replied. "Wipe... them... out." After she said that, a bright light occurred before Twilight found herself back in the shed. Looking around to make sure this was actually real, she stood up and breathed heavily.

"Midnight's right." She said to herself before she looked up at the chainsaw on the shelf.

"Of course I'm right!" Midnight's voice shouted in her mind. "Now go!"

"Alright! Alright! You don't have to shout!"

Applejack grunted as she climbed through the driver's side window of her wrecked truck. A noticeable gash could be seen on her arm through her ripped sleeve, most likely from broken glass. As she pulled herself up, she felt someone reach their arms under hers and pull her up out of the cab. She looked up to find Bull before seeing her brother down on the ground with his arms reached out toward her.

"Don't worry, little sis. We got you." He said as he and Bull helped her down. Applejack immediately grunted again as soon as her feet hit the ground, prompting both guys to help her.

"Come on." Bull said. "We need to get her to the safe room."

"Eeyup." Big Mac replied as the two of them began to make their way toward the building with Applejack in between them.

"But... what about the horde?" Applejack asked before she looked over at the small garden shed just in time to see the door kicked open from within. Soon after that, she saw the Twilight from this world stepping outside, wielding a chainsaw engulfed in a purple aura of magic. Bull looked up at her as well before turning to look back at his injured friend.

"Can't believe I'm saying this. But I think Twilight's got this." He replied as the three of them started moving up the stairs. But as they started to make their way inside, one question was lingering on his mind. Where in all of that chaos was Adagio and her sisters?

Chapter Twelve

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As thunder boomed across the land with streaks of lightning illuminating the sky momentarily, Twilight looked around at everything going on in front of her. The cannon crews were still firing her specially designed shells. The gunners beside them, Sunset included, were occupied with having to divide their fire between those infected still on the outside of the walls and those coming in through what was left of the destroyed gate. And while the Building Defense Squad was keeping them from getting inside the main complex, she could tell that they couldn't keep it that way as the infected were beginning to push them backward.

"There's too many of them! I can't hold them back!" she heard one of them cry out before that person was shoved backward out of the formation, stumbling and falling on his back with an infected directly on top of him. The only thing keeping them separated was his riot shield, thankfully placed between them. She then watched as Rainbow Dash quickly aimed her pistol and shot the infected in the head. But now, the horde had an unimpeded path inside. The line of defenders was broken as the horde pushed them aside. One by one, the infected began charging through what they thought to be the last line of defense. Well. It might've been. If the girl wielding the magical chainsaw didn't have anything to say about it.

As she stood still with her floating chainsaw hovering close by, she watched as Rainbow and Spitfire continued on. Despite the situation, the two fighters did not back down and run to the safety of the main building. If anything, they were now more determined to fight on against these odds stacked against them. But even with those two and the remaining members of their squad now in an all out brawl with the infected, the numbers just were not in their favor.

With the gate destroyed and now the Building Defense Squad separated from each other, Twilight determined that if she didn't do something, the entire yard would be compromised in a matter of minutes. It was then and there that she knew what had to be done. Whether she wanted to or not was irrelevant to the task at hand. This is something that needed to happen in order to ensure their best hopes of survival.

Observing a couple of the infected making a dash for the defenseless people in the supply chain, she knew that it was now or never to act. With several yards separating the crew from their attackers, the magically enhanced chainsaw floated over toward them. The little motor was revving at full throttle before the part that was meant to cut through tree trunks and branches sliced through both of their necks, dropping both with just a few feet separating them from the line of people.

"Nothing is going to get by me," she said to herself as she slowly walked toward the chaos in front of her, her shoes becoming caked in mud with the ground around them being soaked from the rain. As she walked, her right hand clenched into a fist every few seconds with her wrist beginning to rotate it. By proxy, the chainsaw's engine was being revved over and over as the entire thing started spinning around, like a spinning fan of magical devastation. Seeing what it was doing, she clenched her fist as hard as she could, keeping her wrist rotating before sending it directly into the horde.

When she did this, the effects could immediately be seen. One by one, the infected began to drop to the ground. Once Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were finished dealing with infected in front of them, they were soon stunned to find a flying chainsaw spinning around, cutting down the horde with ease.

"What... the... fuck...?" Spitfire quietly asked while watching the floating purple colored chainsaw. She then looked over to see that it was Twilight Sparkle who was controlling the instrument of destruction. Seeing this, she then turned to look over at Rainbow, who was equally as shocked. "Did... you know she could do that?"

"Not. At. All," Rainbow replied while smacking an infected man over the head with her baton all while keeping her eyes glued to what was happening. She simply couldn't look away as the chainsaw was mowing down any unlucky infected that was in its path. Meanwhile up on the catwalk, Sunset was equally as shocked to see her friend's actions. From above, she watched as the little chainsaw kept spinning around, slicing through the necks and bodies of the infected.

"Woah...." she heard Shining Armor's voice say. She then turned and looked in the direction of the voice to find Twilight's brother's eyes wide open as he watched what his little sister was doing. A smirk then formed on his face as he nodded his head. "That's my little sis," he said before turning to look back out at the remaining portions of the horde that was still attacking.

While all of the chaos and carnage was happening outside, inside was the complete opposite as Bull, Big Mac, and Applejack made their way toward the safe room. With her friend on her right and her big brother on her left, Applejack could only try to keep herself steady while she was essentially carried along. She'd try to walk on her own. But each time she tried putting any kind of weight on her right leg, a sharp pain would be all that she'd be rewarded with.

"Just take it easy, AJ," Bull said as they walked through the empty hallways. "We don't know what all's wrong with you."

"I'm.... fine...." Applejack grunted in response while trying to walk on her own. But the pain in her leg made her regret it, at least as far as her facial expression told.

"I don't think you are," her brother said as the group rounded a corner. "That leg of yours might just be broken."

"I'd.... be in a lot more pain.... if that was the case," she replied. "I'll be... fine. Just need to... sit down is all."

"You're probably gonna need a lot more than that," Bull said as the group came up to the door leading into the safe room. As soon as they stopped, Bull banged on the door with his free hand a few times. "Open the door! Applejack needs some medical help!"

"Applejack?!" Rarity's voice cried out from inside the room before they could see the fashionista rush over to the other side of the metal door. She then removed the bar keeping the door shut and quickly opened it to allow the group to enter. As the apple farmer was helped inside, Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all looked on in shock as they saw what condition their friend was in. "Applejack! Darling! Are you alright?" Rarity asked after she secured the door behind them.

"I've.... been better," she replied while she was led over to a chair. Once there, Bull and Big Mac helped her sit down. When she was seated, she removed her rifle that she had strapped to her back before leaning it on the wall beside her. As she was doing that, a familiar face that the transformed alicorn recognized came up to the group. Nurse Redheart, the facility's lead medic, stopped and knelt down in front of Applejack with her first aid kit already opened.

"Don't worry, Applejack," she said while getting some medical wrap and antiseptics ready. "I'll get you patched up. Can you tell me what all is going on?"

"Well. I got this big ol' gash in my arm," she replied while pointing it out. "And something's wrong... with my right leg."

"Alright," Redheart replied. "Let me see what I can do for you." As the former school nurse started to work on her injuries, the mood in the room changed to one of concern and panic. If Applejack, someone known for being one of the toughest people in the facility, was in this condition. Then who knows what else was going on out there. While Redheart, Big Mac, and the rest of her friends were tending to Applejack's injuries, Twilight looked over and saw that Bullseye was already walking back toward the door.

"Bull!" she called out before rushing after him. This made him stop just before reaching the door. "Bull. What happened to Applejack?"

"She was using her truck to keep the gate shut," he replied. "But it got destroyed."

"The gate's gone?!" one of the people in the room cried out. "They're coming! They're coming for us! I just know it!"

"What are we going to do?!" another person asked. Hearing this, Bull turned around and looked back toward them. Once he did, he saw that those who weren't looking after Applejack were now looking at him. Through his tinted sunglasses, he could see the fear in each of their eyes as they all looked at him for some glimmer of hope.

"Don't worry," he said in an attempt to calm them down. "We've got everything under control."

"You don't know that!" one of the people replied. "The gate's destroyed! You said so yourself! That means they can get into the building!"

"Even if they do somehow get inside. You all are still safe in here!" he replied as his voice got a bit louder. "This room was built with that scenario in mind!"

"He's right!" Applejack added. "Even if this place is breached, they ain't gonna get in this room."

"Why are they attacking us now though?" a mother asked as she held her child close. "We've been here for months and never had any problems. Why now? What's changed?"

"Hang on," another mother said. "Didn't we lose one of our Scavengers yesterday?"

"Yes," Cadance replied as she held Flurry Heart. "Bullseye's partner. Adagio Dazzle." This made Bull look away in shame as some people in the room began putting together the pieces.

"Bullseye! Your partner's trying to get us all infected! Or worse!" A woman called out before the sound of a window breaking in a nearby room startled everyone. Hearing this, Bull took hold of his shotgun and removed the bar keeping the door shut before opening it. Once he did, he peeked out in the hall to check for any infected. Thankfully there were no signs of any inside.

"Twilight," he said while standing there, making the humanized alicorn look at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm leaving. Lock the door behind me. No matter what happens. Don't unlock it until everything quiets down."

"Are you crazy? You can't go out there by yourself!"

"Who all is going to come with me from here?" he asked before turning and stepping back in the room, closing the door behind him. "Applejack's hurt. I'm not gonna ask Big Mac to leave his sister's side. And everyone else in here already chose to stay out of the fight."

"I didn't choose to be in here," she replied. "I'll go with you."

"No," he said. "You're too important to risk getting infected."

"You let me go with you yesterday to help Rainbow and the others," she pointed out. "What's the difference today? Besides. You need someone to watch your back." This made him turn around and look at her. He could see that she was determined and wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Twilight," Rarity said as she walked over to them. "Are you sure you want to do this? Yes Bull would be by himself. But that hasn't stopped him before. I mean. He was by himself yesterday when he rescued you. Remember?"

"Exactly," the transformed Princess replied as her friend stopped in front of her. "And now's my chance to repay him for that."

"There are other ways you can repay him!" she whispered into her ear. "Less dangerous ways!"

"Rarity. I know you're just trying to protect me," she replied while looking at her friend. "Just like your Equestrian counterpart would. But back there, I once made the mistake of staying behind while my friends put themselves in danger all because I was a Princess. But I learned that no matter the situation, it was always better to face them together." She then turned her head to look at Bull. "And right now. He needs me to help him."

The former seamstress sighed after hearing that before turning around to look at Applejack as Redheart was seen applying medical tape around her friend's leg. She could see the pain on her friend's face, as her eyes were clenched shut.

"Well. If you're going," she said before turning to look back at the two of them. "Then so am I."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.

"Absolutely," the fashionista replied. "Those brutes hurt our friend. So now we are going to return the favor." She then looked over at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy who had walked over to stand by them. "Right girls?"

"Right!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Mmhm," Fluttershy added. After that, the four of them looked at Bull, who just stood there silently while looking at all of them. Soon, he gave a heavy sigh and unclipped the strap securing the sword to his body before handing it over to Twilight.

"Sunset's gonna kill me for this," he said as he turned and walked out of the room. "Come on."

"Right behind you," Twilight said as she and the others followed him out of the room. Once all of them were out, one of the people in the room shut the door behind them. As the small group of five rushed down the corridor, the sounds of the cannons and guns outside could still be heard. The journey to the armory lasted a couple of minutes. But when they arrived, Bull stood watch outside with the humanized alicorn while the others picked up their gear.

After several minutes, the other three stepped out of the room, dressed in protective gear and holding their weapons of choice. As they did, both Twilight and Bullseye were surprised with what they had selected. Rarity and Fluttershy had chosen to use the same type of weapon as both were holding sniper rifles.

"In all my time of knowing the two of you," he said as he looked at their guns. "I never would've even imagined you both being snipers."

"Quick. Clean. And precise," Rarity replied. "Plus the advantages of being on rooftop above the chaos is something that I tend to prefer."

"And we'll be far from the infected too," Fluttershy added. "So you wouldn't have to worry about us."

"Good," he replied. "One less thing to worry about." After saying that, he then looked at what Pinkie Pie had chosen. Like him, she had chosen to use a shotgun. The only difference was that hers was a double barrel version. Meaning that she'd get only two shots before having to reload. Upon seeing that, he tilted his head in confusion. "A double barrel shotgun?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"Don't underestimate my boomstick," she replied while looking at him. "She may not be as intimidating to look at as your gun. But she still packs quite the punch." This made him chuckle before he watched Rarity and Fluttershy head off toward the roof. Once they disappeared around a corner, he turned his attention to Twilight.

"Come on, Twi," he said. "There should still be some protective gear in there that you can use." When she heard him say that, the humanized alicorn looked down at herself and soon saw what he was talking about. Going outside dressed in the clothes the portal gave her probably wasn't a good idea. Especially with her arms and legs being exposed. Looking back up, she nodded before following him into the room while Pinkie waited outside.

Once inside, Twilight was amazed at what all was in there. Lining almost all of the room's perimeter were lockers holding different sets of clothes, ranging from long sleeve tops to full protective pieces of body armor. On the other side of the room was an open door that led into another room filled with lockers. From where she was standing, she could see some of the open lockers had weapons inside. What type of weapons though, she had no idea.

"Alright," Bull said, gaining her attention as she looked at him while he was rummaging through the lockers in the room they were in. "Here you go." After saying that, he turned around and held out some clothes for her. When she took hold, she looked down at the items of clothing. They were slightly heavier than she was expecting, but not too much. They probably had extra padding for protection.

"Thank you," she replied as he turned around and went inside the weapons room. As he was doing this, she set the clothes down in front of her and looked them over. The top was a thick black shirt with long sleeves. The bottom was a matching black pair of pants. She then looked down at the clothes she was currently wearing. The black top could easily just go over what she already had on. But wearing a skirt underneath the pants might be uncomfortable.

As she was doing that, Bullseye was looking around in the other room for supplies. He always did enjoy being in this room in particular. Pretty much similar to a kid being in a candy store as this room was essentially a miniature gun store. Only difference was that he didn't have to buy what he needed in here. Even though he was fully equipped with plenty of shells for his shotgun, and he also had Adagio's crossbow strapped to his back with several arrows ready for when needed, he still felt as though something was missing.

"Maybe something smaller," he said softly to himself as he opened various gun lockers. "Something I only need one hand for." As soon as he said that, his mind flashed back to Applejack at Canterlot High with her two backup pistols. Snickering to himself, he started looking for any that he could find. Not long after, he found one pistol in a holster that was designed to be strapped around the wearer's waist with a second holster on the other side. Clipped to the strap were also small pockets that contained several clips of ammo for them. Unfortunately though, the second holster was missing its occupant. "Gotta be another one around here somewhere," he thought as he continued his search. After a few more minutes, he opened another locker and found what he was looking for as he grabbed another pistol, one similar to the one he already found.

"Dual wielding pistols," he said in his mind before taking hold of it and unclipping the other from the holster at his waist. Holding both of them gave him a surge of confidence as he put both back in their respective holsters. With these, along with his shotgun and Adagio's crossbow, he was now ready for anything the infected would throw at him. "If only Steel and Dagi could see this." After thinking that, he started to make his way back into the other room. "Now I know better than to give you a gun, Twilight," he called out to her just before coming up to the doorway leading into the clothing room. "Considering the fact that you've never used one before. That's why you've got the sword. So just stick close to me and...." His sentence soon trailed off after he stepped through the doorway and saw that she was bent forward in front of him with her purple skirt around her ankles, completely exposing her pink colored panties and the visible portions of her purple colored backside for him to see. "Holy shit!" he yelled before covering his eyes and turning back around to wait in the gun room.

"Are you alright, Bull?" she asked while straightening herself up and turning to look at him, not knowing what had happened for him to react in such a way.

"You need to warn me if you're gonna be changing while I'm still in here!" he replied as he stayed in the gun room. When she heard him say that, she looked down at herself in confusion until it dawned on her what he was talking about. In this world, clothing was more of a requirement than optional. The panties she was wearing would be in full view of him if he was still looking at her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm used to not having to worry about clothes. I mean. Back in Equestria, clothing is seen more as an accessory rather than a necessity."

"Seriously?" he asked while still in the other room.

"Yes," she answered. "I usually just wear clothes for formal celebrations. Otherwise I go without."

"Now that's definitely gonna take some time for people here to get used to."

"I'm sure it will be," she replied. "You can come in here if you want. I'm not ashamed."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

After saying that, she watched as he slowly entered the room once again. Proving that what she said was the truth, she made no attempt to hide her panties from him. Back in Equestria, she'd occasionally catch stallions and even some mares checking out her flank as she'd walk by them. This didn't bother her though as she was proud of her body. And even though she couldn't see his eyes behind those mirrored sunglasses of his, she wouldn't have cared if he was looking at that part of her. But just as he was about to say something, the two of them heard the door on the other side of the room open.

"You guys just about done in here?" Pinkie Pie asked while stepping into the room, gasping as soon as she saw the other two. "Wa-hoh," she said before a sly smirk formed on her face. "What do we have here?"

"It's not what it looks like!" Bull quickly replied as he looked at Pinkie.

"You sure?" she asked while looking at them with lidded eyes. "Cuz it looks to me like you were about to get frisky with the Princess." She then giggled softly. "If you guys wanted some alone time, all you had to do was ask."

"No. Pinkie," Twilight said as her cheeks burned bright red, embarrassed by what she was implying. "I was... just getting changed."

"Sure you were," the party girl replied playfully while winking. "But maybe you two should save that for when we're not being attacked by a horde of infected." After saying that, she left the room and closed the door behind her. Once the two were alone again, they just silently stared at each other with both of them having shades of red plastered on their cheeks.

"I'll uh... let you get finished changing in private," he said as he began walking around her. "We'll... wait for you in the hall."

"Okay," she replied. "I'll... be out there as quick as I can." The man just silently nodded before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind him. With the room to herself again, she turned her attention to the clothes left behind for her. Getting the long sleeve shirt on was pretty easy as she had that done in no time. With that out of the way, she turned her focus to the matching black colored pants.

Taking hold of the item of clothing, she went over to a metal folding chair and sat down. The cold steel made her jump and shiver slightly as her bottom touched it. Once she was fully seated, she leaned forward and set the pants down in front of her legs. In her rush to get changed, she had left her socks and shoes on. Luckily for her though, it didn't seem to matter as the leggings of the pants just slid over them.

"Alright," she said in her head as she stood up and finished pulling her pants up and over her backside. Once this was finished, she went over to a nearby mirror to look herself over. Aside from her hands, face, and neck, everything else was covered in black clothing. Seeing herself in this outfit boosted her confidence for what she was about to do.

"We weren't doing anything in there, Pinkie," she heard Bull say through the closed door.

"Uh huh," she sarcastically replied. "Just be glad Adagio wasn't there to see you two like that. I'm sure she would've been super pissed."

"And thank you for reminding me about her," he said in an annoyed tone. Sensing the need to hurry up, Twilight rushed over to where she had set the sword down and picked it up before going over to the door and opening it.

"He's right, Pinkie," she said as she looked at her while stepping out. "We weren't doing anything in there."

"Alright. Alright," she replied. "Geeze. You guys need to lighten up and have some fun."

"Whatever you say, Pinkie," Bull replied before he looked at the new outfit that Twilight had on. "How's that feel on you?"

"It feels good," she answered as she gave herself another lookover. "Definitely an improvement to going out there in what I was wearing before."

"You can say that again," he replied. "Not really the best idea to be going out there in short sleeves and a skirt." After saying that, he started walking away. "Come on," he said, motioning for both of them to follow. "There's a side entrance to the yard that's quicker to get to than the main entrance."

"Right behind you, Bull," Twilight replied as she and Pinkie followed.

"Stay close to me, Twilight," he continued as they walked. "I'll do my best to keep you safe."

"You got it," she replied. The man just nodded silently in response before looking over at Pinkie.

"Pinkie?" he said.

"Oh. Don't worry about me," she said before giggling as she loaded her gun. "I'm gonna give these infected some fun before they take their long dirt nap. Pinkie Pie style!"

As the trio were on their way, things outside were looking to be turning in favor toward the people defending the facility. The horde looked to be nearing the end as their numbers were dwindling fast. Every now and again, Sunset would see the magical flying chainsaw zoom by, mowing down any unfortunate infected that was in its path. Looking back at the person making it do that, she flashed her a thumbs up.

"Keep it up, Twilight!" she called out.

"Trust me! I could do this all day!" she yelled back as she was hardly breaking a sweat despite using her magical power for such an extended amount of time. But then, her eyes caught sight of some strange green liquid being flung over the wall. "Look out!" she cried out while pointing at it, making Sunset look as it rushed over her. The people on the stairs immediately jumped out of the way right before the liquid splashed on the steps. Sunset looked on in horror as the metal stairs were quickly dissolved, just like the roof of the bus at Canterlot High.

"It can't be...." she said to herself before turning her attention back to the incoming horde. But as she looked closer, she saw a familiar figure out there. Principal Cinch, or at least what was once her, was standing not far from the wall with that terrifying liquid dripping out of her mouth. "I.... I thought I killed you..." Immediately after the former unicorn mare said that, the infected Principal leaned backward before spitting another stream of green liquid from her mouth. "Incoming!" she cried out as she, and the rest of the gunners, ducked in cover as the liquid again flew overhead.

This time though, the liquid hit the magical chainsaw. Twilight cried out in pain as she could feel the acid dissolving her weapon before she cut off her magic. What was left of the it dropped to the ground, completely useless now as she dropped to her knees. From her position on the catwalk, Sunset looked on with concern for her friend. She heard her painful scream and was worried about her condition. But with this new threat, the former mare had to deal with it first before she could help her friend. Not wanting to let Cinch get another chance, she quickly aimed her rifle at the acid flinging individual before firing off several rounds. Just like before on the bus, Cinch was struck in the head before collapsing on the ground in a pool of her own acidic juice.

"Twily!" she heard Shining cry out, obviously hearing his sister as well. Not even hesitating, he jumped over the distance between the catwalk and what remained of the stairs before quickly making his way to her side. "Are you okay, sis?" he asked before giving her a comforting hug.

"I'm.. alright," she answered. As they continued the hug, a new sound echoed from outside the wall. From up on the catwalk, Sunset looked over in time to see a larger in size infected charging straight through a small crowd of fellow infected, sending them in all directions, including some being sent into the air. But this unique creature also appeared to have another one riding it. An infected wearing a hooded sweater.

"Incoming!" she called out just as the infected duo burst through the remains of the infected at the gate before stopping. When they stopped, the smaller infected climbed down and stood still next to the larger one before pulling the hood down, revealing red colored hair and bluish skin. As Sunset looked on, she looked up at the bigger one. This one had rainbow colored hair and dark blue skin as well as a significantly larger right arm compared to the left.

While the two continued standing there, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were just finishing off the infected people in front of them. Both of them were completely exhausted at this point.

"That's... the last of my ammo," Spitfire said as she tossed her pistol aside. "Guess it'll just be my baton now."

"I'm down... to my last clip," Rainbow replied as she loaded her pistol.

"Make those bullets count then," her friend said before the two of them turned around and saw the two standing at the gate. As soon as the rainbow haired girl's eyes caught sight of what was there, she immediately gasped.

"Mom?" she said as tears started forming in her eyes. "Dad?"

"No... way..." Spitfire said upon seeing her friend's reaction. "Are those two... your parents?"

"Yeah...." she replied softly. "At least... what's left of them..."

With the number of infected individuals inside the yard now dramatically reduced, most of the survivors that were still standing now had their guns aimed at the two as they stood motionless. With the cannons no longer firing, those remaining infected that were still beyond the wall were now standing behind the pair, seemingly waiting for the cue to rush into the yard.

An uneasy calmness filled the air for several seconds as everyone just stood still. Almost as though this was something straight out of a movie. Both sides preparing themselves for what would be the climactic conclusion. Even though it hurt her to see what this awful disease had done to her parents, Rainbow had her pistol aimed in their direction as well. She knew that the parents she had were long gone. These two may somewhat still look like them, but she was sure that they'd do to her what they'd do to anyone else they came across.

Suddenly, the two split off in different directions. The larger one started surging ahead with great speed toward Twilight and Shining. And the smaller one leapt into the air while shrieking loudly in the direction toward Rainbow and Spitfire. Following their lead, those remaining infected began pushing in through the remains of the gate. With the threat of her own mother now coming at her, the athletic girl aimed her pistol before discharging it toward the incoming attacker multiple times.

"Twilight!" she called out while glancing at what was once her father as he plowed through anyone that stood in his way, sending them all in various directions. "Look out!" In the split seconds of looking between her mother and father, what she witnessed next would be something that she'd never forget.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Shining pushed his little sister out of harm's way just before being grabbed by the behemoth. But just as he did that, she now had to put all of her focus on her mother. Despite being struck by several bullets, she wasn't phased. Landing in front of the two women, she stood up and growled at the both of them.

"Mom! Please!" Rainbow pleaded as tears filled her eyes while she aimed her pistol at her with unsteady hands. "Don't make me do this!" But all she got in response was another shriek before her mother leapt straight at her. But in the last moment, she felt herself being shoved forcibly out of the way by Spitfire's arm. Time slowed down as this happened. Turning her head as she fell, she watched as her friend was tackled to the ground by what was once her loving mother.

As soon as she hit the dirt, she looked back just as her mother had bit Spitfire's left hand before being punched in the jaw by her right.

"Spitfire!" she cried out before her mother was suddenly struck in the head by a bullet from up above them. Immediately afterward, her body went limp and slumped over to her left, splashing into a puddle next to her. Looking up to where it came from, she saw Rarity looking over the edge of the roof of the main building while holding a sniper rifle.

"Dash..." Spitfire's voice softly said before a cough, getting her attention back.

"You... idiot..." Rainbow said as she knelt down next to her with tears now streaming down her face. "Why did you do that?"

"You... had... no... bullets left," Spitfire answered. Upon hearing this, Rainbow looked down and picked her gun up. She then aimed it up and away from the two of them and squeezed the trigger. Just as her friend had stated, the clip was empty of bullets. In all of the chaos, she hadn't realized her gun had nothing left to fire.

"I'm... sorry..." she said as she held on to her friend's uninfected hand, breaking down as she couldn't control her sorrow. "I'm sorry! I'm a fucking idiot!"

"No..." Spitfire said before coughing once more. "This... wasn't... your... fault."

"Yes it is!" the rainbow haired girl exclaimed.

"Rainbow...." Spitfire said as her breathing began to slow. It was obvious that the infection was starting to spread through the bite to the rest of her body. "I.. don't.. have.. much time left. So listen... close." She then took in another deep breath. "I'd... rather.. go out... saving my friend... than any... other way." After saying that, she coughed once more. But her eyes looked back at her friend as she was by her side. "Promise me... that you'll survive..."

"I..."

"You're... strong, Rainbow," she said. "I... know... you'll... make it... through..." Through the tears in her eyes, Rainbow saw that Spitfire was smiling as she laid there looking up at her with tears coming out of her eyes as well. "I... have... no regrets... for this," she continued. "But you... need to make it. For both me... and Soarin." The athletic girl just sniffled in response as she clutched her friend's hand between both of hers. Spitfire's breathing slowed down dramatically until her body went limp. "Goodbye.... Rain...bow..." she weakly said before a streak of lightning lit up the sky followed by a loud boom of thunder.

"Spitfire?" Rainbow said as her friend's hand slid out from between hers, splashing in the mud. She then rested her hands on her body and pushed against it with no response. "Spitfire?!"

"Look out, Rainbow!" Rarity's voice called out from above. Hearing that, Rainbow looked up and saw that three infected people were coming toward her. Immediately, one was struck in the head from the fashionista above. But the other two kept coming. With not enough time to react to her attackers as she was still kneeling by Spitfire's body, she closed her eyes and put her arm up in a pointless attempt to shield herself.

But the sound of two shotguns being fired nearby followed shortly by the sounds of two bodies hitting the ground made her open them to find that she was safe.

"Rainbow!" Twilight's voice cried out from behind her. Hearing that, she turned around to find Pinkie Pie, Bullseye, and the transformed Princess of Friendship standing in front of the nearby side entrance to the building. Seeing the three of them, along with both Rarity and Fluttershy looking down from the roof, the rainbow haired girl's magenta colored eyes just filled with tears as she broke down once more.

Equestria Girls: Left For Dead

by Harms Way

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve